Two leaders say there is ‘much more to do’ to stop brutal killing of civilians
Cameron and French President Francois Hollande will work to identify how they could bolster the opposition
UN claims Iran appears to be supplying Assad’s regime with funds, weapons and intelligence support

Prime Minister David Cameron and US President Barack Obama have said the use of chemical weapons in Syria or even a threat to deploy them would be ‘completely unacceptable’.

In a phone call the two leaders said if President Bashar Assad made such a move it ‘would force them to revisit their approach so far’, a government spokesman in the UK said.

The two leaders said there was ‘much more to do’ to stop the brutal killing of civilians in the Middle East state.
President Barack Obama has said the use of chemical weapons in Syria or even a threat to deploy them would be ‘completely unacceptable’.
Prime Minister David Cameron has said the use of chemical weapons in Syria or even a threat to deploy them would be ‘completely unacceptable’

Agreement: Prime Minister David Cameron and US President Barack Obama have said the use of chemical weapons in Syria or even a threat to deploy them would be ‘completely unacceptable’

Earlier this week President Obama warned that any movement of Syria’s stockpile of chemical weapons would be a ‘red line’ which would have ‘enormous consequences’.

Mr Cameron also discussed the situation with French President Francois Hollande and the two European nations agreed to ‘work more closely to identify how they could bolster the opposition and help a potential transitional Syrian government after the inevitable fall of Assad’.
Threat: Syrian President Bashar Assad is said to be in control of a sizeable stockpile of chemical weapons

Threat: Syrian President Bashar Assad is said to be in control of a sizeable stockpile of chemical weapons

Downing Street said Mr Cameron and President Obama ‘both agreed that the use – or threat – of chemical weapons was completely unacceptable and would force them to revisit their approach so far’.

A spokeswoman added: ‘The Prime Minister restated the risk to the wider region posed by the fighting and the fact that regional and international cooperation was vital.

‘He reinforced the need to work in close cooperation with Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and others on the issue.’

They also ‘firmly agreed that there was much more to do in order to stop the brutal killing of civilians and help put Syria on a path towards peace and stability’.

They discussed how to build on the support both nations had offered to the opposition in Syria ‘to end the appalling violence and bring about stability’.

The leaders said they hoped a meeting of opposition groups in Cairo would show ‘real unity of purpose and coherence in working towards transition’.

Mr Cameron and Mr Obama agreed that more should be done by the international community to channel humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees through the UN appeal.

Mr Cameron and Mr Hollande discussed the need to maintain international pressure on the Assad regime.

They agreed that the refugee situation was ‘deeply troubling’ and Mr Hollande said that the humanitarian crisis would be the focus of France’s United Nations Security Council ministerial meeting at the end of the month.

Free Syrian Army fighters exchange fire with regime forces in the city of Aleppo. Mr Cameron has agreed with French President Francois Hollande to work to identify how they could bolster the opposition

The pair welcomed the appointment of Lakhdar Brahimi as the new UN envoy and hoped that he would carry on the work of Kofi Annan in ‘seeking a credible political solution – as well as holding the regime to account for any further atrocities’.

Yesterday the United Nations claimed Iran appears to be supplying Assad’s regime with funds, weapons and intelligence support.

Obama and Cameron have welcomed the appointment of Lakhdar Brahimi as the new UN envoy to Syria

Syrian rebels also say Tehran has sent Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah fighters to assist government forces.

‘The Secretary-General has repeatedly expressed his concern about the arms flows to the two parties in Syria, which in some cases appear to violate resolution 1747 passed by this council banning arms exports under Chapter 7 authority,’ U.N. political affairs chief Jeffrey Feltman told the U.N. Security Council.

Next week, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will attend a summit meeting of leaders of non-aligned developing nations in Iran.

He will also meet with senior Iranian officials to discuss ‘Iran’s nuclear program, terrorism, human rights and the crisis in Syria,’ his spokesman said.

A U.N. Security Council panel of independent experts that monitors sanctions against Iran has uncovered several examples of Iran transferring arms to Syria’s government.

The United Nations has said more than 18,000 people have died and some 170,000 people have fled the country as a result of the fighting in Syria.

U.N. aid chief Valerie Amos has said that up to 2.5 million people in Syria needed aid.

‘This conflict has taken on a particularly brutal and violent character,’ Amos told a news conference in New York on Wednesday after visiting Syria and Lebanon last week.

‘We face problems with access to people in need, particularly where there is intense and ongoing fighting, but funding is also holding us back. If we had more resources, we could reach more people,’ she said.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Out of context. Assad said the chemical weapons were to be used against INVADERS not civilians. Leaders and media need to lead by example . . . accuracy please. But conventional killings, or the nature of the strife-wise, only the local Syrians would know best, this looks like a 3 way proxy war if anything. Communist Bloc vs. West vs. Sunnites with any or either, playing all sides potentially.

Richard Rochford was facing a two-and-a-half-year jail term
Judge Peter Bowers admitted he could be ‘pilloried’ for his controversial decision to free him
‘It takes a huge amount of courage as far as I can see for someone to burgle somebody’s home,’ he said
PM admits he has been a victim of ‘despicable and hateful’ crime
‘I’m very clear, burglary is not bravery, it’s cowardice. People who repeatedly burgle should be sent to prison,’ he said

David Cameron today turned on a judge who praised burglars for their ‘courage’ and allowed a serial intruder to walk free from court.

Judge Peter Bowers said Richard Rochford could go home instead of being jailed for two-and-a-half years because prison ‘very rarely does anybody any good’.

Responding this morning the furious Prime Minister admitted that he has been burgled twice himself, adding: ‘I’m very clear, burglary is not bravery, it’s cowardice.

‘I’ve been burgled twice, you feel completely violated when someone has smashed their way into your house,’ he told ITV’s Daybreak, adding: ‘Burglary is a despicable and hateful crime.’
Ruckas: David Cameron used an interview on ITV this morning to attack a judge who freed a burglar, admitting that he has been burgled twice and the crime showed ‘cowardice’

Ruckas: David Cameron used an interview on ITV this morning to attack a judge who freed a burglar, admitting that he has been burgled twice and the crime showed ‘cowardice’

Rochford, 26, burgled three homes in East Cleveland and tried to burgle another in the space of five days. He committed the crimes to feed a drug addiction that started when he was in prison for another offence, Teesside Crown Court was told.

By not jailing him Judge Bowers appeared to recognise the controversy he may cause, saying his decision could mean ‘I might get pilloried for it.’

And Mr Cameron is one of many who have.

‘People sometimes say it is not a violent crime, but actually if you have been burgled, you do feel it was violence,’ he said.

‘I am very clear that people who repeatedly burgle should be sent to prison.’
Teesside Crown Court Judge Peter Bowers

‘I might get pilloried for it’: Judge Peter Bowers made the extraordinary judgment and freed a serial burglar who he said had ‘courage’

He also backed the decision by the CPS not to charge a couple arrested in Leicestershire after two burglars were shot at their home.
Let go: Serial burglar Richard Rochford walked free after Judge Peter Bowers told him: ‘It takes a huge amount of courage as far as I can see for somebody to burgle somebodyís house.’

Let go: Serial burglar Richard Rochford walked free after Judge Peter Bowers told him: ‘It takes a huge amount of courage as far as I can see for somebody to burgle somebodyís house.’

‘That is why this Government is actually changing the law to toughen the rules on self-defence against burglars, saying householders have the right to defend themselves,’ the Prime Minister said.

The judge’s astonishing comments were condemned by victims of the burglar and follow a series of controversial remarks by the same judge in previous cases.

Passing sentence, Judge Bowers told him: ‘It takes a huge amount of courage as far as I can see for someone to burgle somebody’s house. I wouldn’t have the nerve.

‘Yet somehow, bolstered by drugs and desperation, you were prepared to do that.’ The judge added: ‘I think prison very rarely does anybody any good. It mostly leaves people the chance to change their own mind if they want to. I don’t think anybody would benefit from sending you to prison today. We’d all just feel a bit easier that a burglar had been taken off the streets.’

Rochford could have been jailed for two-and-a-half years but instead he was given a suspended 12-month jail sentence, a two-year supervision order with drug rehabilitation, 200 hours’ unpaid work and a one-year driving ban. The offence was Rochford’s first burglary conviction, although he was cautioned for burgling a home at the age of ten. He has previously been jailed for three years for arson.

Rochford went on a burglary spree in February. He took a laptop, satnav and money from the first home he raided and drove away the family’s Ford Focus car, which he damaged and abandoned.

PM: MINISTERS DIDN’T CRY WHEN I SACKED THEM

David Cameron has denied reducing ministers to tears as he took the reshuffle hatchet to his Government.

The Prime Minister also revealed that he juggled it with trying to write a poem about a ‘furry bear’ for one of his children.

The comments came amid reports that three Tories – including former Cabinet members Caroline Spelman and Cheryl Gillan – wept when told they no longer had frontbench jobs.

Mr Cameron told ITV’s Daybreak programme that conducting the shake-up earlier this week was ‘difficult’, and some of the ousted ministers had done ‘absolutely nothing wrong’.

‘It obviously is incredibly difficult because there are ministers who had worked incredibly hard, who had done absolutely nothing wrong in their jobs, who were very dedicated,’ he said.

‘But when you have got a huge team of 300 MPs, huge challenges, it is important to bring new people on and bring new people in.’

Asked whether he had made anyone cry, Mr Cameron replied: ‘That is not true, actually.’

The following night he took jewellery, a handbag and electrical items from another home. His girlfriend Amy Kyme, 22, who acted as lookout and helped dispose of the stolen goods, was given a suspended prison sentence. Rochford walked into both unlocked homes while the owners slept.

He admitted two burglaries and asked for another burglary and an attempted burglary to be taken into consideration. He also admitted aggravated vehicle taking.

Graham Brown, defending, told the court the drug habit Rochford developed ‘scarred his life’ and ‘the system failed him’. He claimed the petty crook had changed his ways.

Mr Brown said Rochford had had a ‘major wake-up call,’ and had ‘seen the light’. He confessed, co-operated with police and stopped using drugs, the court heard.

Rochford ransacked the home of Mark Clayton, 47, an Army veteran who served in Afghanistan and Bosnia. Mr Clayton said the judge made a ‘grave misjudgment’.

He added: ‘Picking dead bodies up after they’ve been blown up, to go into that takes courage. Walking into someone’s house on an opportunistic whim and basically devastating someone’s life by taking things that man has worked so hard for all his life, and taking it away without a thought, isn’t courage.’

Mr Clayton said his son Mark, 16, was at first wrongly arrested on suspicion of the burglary, causing further upset for his family. Rochford stole a wallet containing £500 of life savings when he raided the home of retired shipyard worker John Hopper, 73, and wife Vera, 71.

Daughter Sharon Hopper, 40, said: ‘I can’t believe what the judge said. What really took courage was my parents having to continue living in their house after he had invaded their privacy.

‘Until the judge has had his own home burgled while he is lying asleep inside it, he cannot possibly know the fear and distress suffered by decent people like my parents.’

Judge Bowers, 67, is a married father of three who has been a judge for more than 20 years.

He has made contradictory comments about burglary sentencing in recent months. In May, he criticised sentencing guidelines that let first-time burglars escape with a ‘slap across the wrist’.

But weeks later, he allowed a man with almost 80 crimes on his record to walk free for a burglary committed four days after his release from prison, telling the court: ‘I must be getting soft in my old age.’
Sentencing: Rochford was given a suspended 12-month jail sentence at Teesside Crown Court

Judge Bowers then told David Wray, 39: ‘I am quite sure you are capable of a lot better. If you are bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, you’ll be all right.’

The judge’s comments drew a furious response from David Hines, chairman of the National Victims’ Association.

He said: ‘What message does this send out to society? Quite frankly it is outrageous.

‘The criminal justice system has let the victims down.

‘Burglars are going to believe that judges think they are courageous. I think this judge is on a different wavelength to everyone else.’

Mr Hines, from Jarrow, South Tyneside, set up the association after his daughter Marie was murdered aged 23 in 1992.

‘I have been doing this for 20 years now and the criminal justice system has been getting diluted and diluted, getting weaker,’ he said.

‘I am sick of hearing how victims are at the heart of the criminal justice system – doesn’t this prove that they are not?

‘Burglars are not courageous, they are probably doped up on drugs.

‘People who are courageous, to me, are soldiers, nurses and policemen.’

One barrister who works at Teesside Crown Court expressed surprise at Judge Bowers’ remarks.

He tweeted: ‘I am amazed by this, if true, as he is one of the toughest sentencing judges in Teesside.’

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

The burglar could spend sometime cleaning up the damage and then paying for damages. Jail at 40K per year and even court (perhaps at 4K per session?), costs too much for something in the line of 400, that could be corrected out of court. This in fact is sufficiently deterrant. Burglars know that if they get caught, they’ll have to correct the damages. Judges have more important criminals to deal with, like crony capitalists colluding with the local bureaucracy and corruption and bribery. Jail does not teach anything and wastes the tax payer’s monies and wastes the criminal’s life. Inequitable wealth distribution and lack of opportunity or lack of distribution of land causes criminality, this is society’s fault to the ‘criminal’s. This judge has a grasp of empathy if not the root causes of criminality as well. And courage is needed to make an attempt to change one’s life. Actually so-called criminals would make better soldiers than the conformists in the army. That is why mercenary contractors are used in so many US invasions, more effective and has the proper mindset. Marionettes are not brave, just mindless. Mindless is not brave.

One barrister who works at Teesside Crown Court expressed surprise at Judge Bowers’ remarks. He tweeted: ‘I am amazed by this, if true, as he is one of the toughest sentencing judges in Teesside.’

Not just about being tough. A judge is not a Drill Sergeant or a sports trainer, a Judge has to consider the well being of the offender in context to society and make common sense judgments as well. Cameron perhaps needs to consider that some of the bad policies written, or neglected for amendment have caused DEATHS or much suffering among the English. Robberies don’t seem to happen unless the target is somehow deemed a failure or the cause of some wrongs, don’t they?

ARTICLE 3

Fears of home extension ‘free-for-all’ as owners told they can extend houses by up to 30ft without planning permission – By James Chapman PUBLISHED: 23:11 GMT, 5 September 2012 | UPDATED: 11:01 GMT, 6 September 2012

The move is designed to encourage conservatories, loft extensions or garage conversions
Will also mean residents no longer have a right to challenge thousands of construction schemes

Homeowners are to be allowed to build extensions or conservatories of up to almost 30 feet without needing planning permission, David Cameron and Nick Clegg announced today.

Under the first stage of proposals to sweep away planning rules and bureaucracy, shops, offices and industrial units will also be allowed to expand with no need to ask their local authority.

The move is designed to encourage conservatories, loft extensions or garage conversions, and support businesses which want to grow or diversify.

Joint effort: David Cameron and Nick Clegg are watched by Josh Wood, 9, as they launched their planning changes in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire today

However, it will also mean residents no longer have a right to challenge thousands of construction schemes on neighbouring properties, even if they believe it will have an adverse impact on them.

Announcement: Homeowners are to be allowed to build extensions or conservatories of up to almost 30 feet without needing planning permission

In other plans, the Government is to offer up to £10billion in state-backed guarantees to encourage housing developments, a move which ministers believe could mean 100,000 homes being built over three years.

Rules on how many affordable homes must be included in a development may also be relaxed.

There will be help for 16,500 first-time buyers, who will be offered equity loans of up to 20 per cent of the property value that can be used as a deposit.

New ‘permitted development rights’ will be introduced to allow a change of use from commercial to residential purposes – although local authorities will be able to seek exemptions where they believe there will be a negative economic impact

It means disused offices or light industrial premises will be able to switch to residential developments with no need for planning permission.

Plans: David Cameron and Nick Clegg will make the announcement today

Currently, homeowners need planning permission to make any change that extends more than a few feet from their property’s rear wall, requiring them to fill in complicated application forms that typically take eight weeks or more to be considered.

Under the new system, the size of extensions allowed without permission, therefore, will be doubled to about 20 feet for terraced properties and 26 feet for detatched.
Changes: The move will mean residents no longer have a right to challenge thousands of construction schemes

The change will not apply in protected areas, including conservation areas, World Heritage Sites, the Broads and areas of outstanding natural beauty, where development rights are already more limited.

Under changes, businesses will be able to expand premises by 100 square metres and industrial units by 200 square metres, and shops and offices will be permitted to develop up to the boundary of the premises.

Every year there are more than 400,000 planning applications processed, with almost 200,000 for residential improvements, many of which are for changes such as conservatories or extensions.

Ministers say the changes will provide a crucial and immediate stimulus to the construction sector.

There will be a month-long consultation on the measures before they are implemented later in the year.

The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister will say: ‘This government means business in delivering plans to help people build new homes and kick-start the economy.

‘We’re determined to cut through the bureaucracy that holds us back.

‘That starts with getting the planners off our backs, getting behind the businesses that have the ambition to expand, and meeting the aspirations of families that want to buy or improve a home.’

A Government source added: ‘We want to make it easier for families to undertake home improvements: not just to cut red tape and strengthen individual homeowners’ rights, but also to help generate economic activity which will support small traders in particular.’

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

. . . requiring them to fill in complicated application forms that typically take eight weeks or more to be considered . . . AND . . . residents no longer have a right to challenge thousands of construction schemes . . . SERIOUSLY? Good thing this sort of red tape profiteering bureaucracy is going to end if not just mere talk. . . Hear that ‘Gambier Threat’ DAP? Don’t even dare tell anyone that they are going to get their extensions torn down!

No such thing as ‘. . . home extension ‘free-for-all’ . . . ‘ anyone can build anything. Sovereign territory. A man’s home is their castle. Bring back those allodial titles as well. Or do the 99% need to have a French Revolution against the Bastille of term limited nepotists, plutocrats, and MPs who refuse to amend laws to allow allodial titles for property and some aspect of Eminent Domain? For deeper reading on expositions of absolutist aspects of some laws regarding property and person please read link below :

Chinese President Hu Jintao met with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the Great Hall of the People on Wednesday morning.(Xinhua/ Zhang Duo)

On Sept. 4, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton began a visit to China and it is said that U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta will also pay a visit to China. The United States should bear a big responsibility in the sustained tense situation in East Asia on the territorial dispute and is the key country to constantly carry out military exercises in the Pacific region. Then, what is the purpose of Clinton and other officials’ China visit at this time?

U.S. action damaged the mutual trust

One of the reasons for Clinton’s visit to China is the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting about to be held in Russia this weekend. There is a convention between China and the United States, namely the senior officials of both sides will communicate and understand each other before an important multilateral meeting, said Wu Chunsi, executive director with the Institute for International Strategic Studies under Shanghai Institute of International Studies. At present, the development of APEC is at a critical point, which makes the China-U.S. communication more necessary.

In addition, Clinton came to China not all for APEC. According to Wu Xinbo, with Fudan University, first, the United States has a decline in its interests in APEC; second, Russia is the host country of the meeting and so it will gain praise if the meeting makes substantive results, which the United States is not willing to see. Therefore, the main intention of Clinton is to put pressure on China about the international and regional issues, which mainly include the disputes over the Diaoyu Islands and South China Sea, as well as Iranian and Syrian issues.

China-U.S. relations maintain an overall stability

A series of tense situation in East Asia in 2012 were caused by the “eastward of the strategic center” of the United States. Executive director of the Strategic Research Center of China Institute of International Research Foundation Wang Yusheng pointed out that the United States claimed to realize “rebalance” in the Asia-Pacific region due to the rise of China’s “anti-intervention strength.”

The “rebalance” refers to the one under the domination of the United States. All the Asian countries including China must submit to the United States to maintain a flourishing “order.” Otherwise, the United States will use various methods to punish the “order challengers.”

Clinton’s visit to China this time just goes through the motions. 2012 is the election year in the United States and so it is unlikely that both sides will reach substantive and constructive results.

In Wu’s opinion, there will be a new U.S. government after the election. Therefore, the realistic diplomacy against China will be the main direction, no matter which party holds power. Both China and the United States benefited from the currently close relationship, which is the fundamental driving force to push a smooth bilateral relationship forward.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

China doesn’t even need to care. Once USA commits to an Iran war, USA will not have the time nor energy to handle China. Actually USA even without an Iran War and going back to Iraq to consolidate Iraq will already be enough to keep USA busy for decades. China need not worry at all. Barring extreme technology unknown to China, this trip is is just icing with no cake, and Hillary perhaps gets to enjoy a free holiday on the USA taxpayers’ funds merely for making the Chinese ‘nervous’ or impressing the foolish among Chinese leaders with that Clinton former-prez ethos (nominally tainted with and based on nepotism . . . ) even as Russia MUST be cooperated with by China even when China is an ally of Russia which is not exactly pleased with USA over the missile shield. USA needs BOTH China and Russia on USA’s side before taking on Iran.

Miners and their supporters dance after being released outside the court in Ga Rankuwa, near Pretoria.(REUTERS / Mike Hutchings)

The first of 270 miners arrived home jubilant amid cheers from their families and friends. The men were accused of murdering their colleagues during a protest, despite all evidence showing the kill shots were fired by police.

Women cried as they were reunited with their husbands, relieved to have them home again.

Some, like miner Victor Molefane, got an even bigger “welcome home” present – as Victor walked out of jail, a free man, his wife gave birth to their son.

“I am very happy,” the new father told South Africa’s Mail and Guardian daily, as he wiped tears of joy from his face.

Supporters of the detained men gathered outside the Marikana platinum mine to celebrate their release, and soon all those gathered were dancing and singing.

State prosecutor Nigel Carpenter confirmed the murder and attempted murder charges against all 270 miners arrested were dropped.

But the miners’ lawyer said he will file a motion to drop all other charges against his clients as well.

“All the charges are incompetent and should be withdrawn,” Dali Mpofu said. He told reporters this issue will be addressed when the trial resumes in February next year.

The Lonmin platinum mine in Marikana, in the country’s North West province, made headlines on August 16 when protesters clashed with police while demanding their wages be raised to over $1,000 a month. The crackdown claimed the lives of 36 people – 34 miners and two policemen – and left 78 injured.

Police originally claimed they fired their weapons in self-defense, as the angry mob was getting aggressive.

But leaked findings of victims’ autopsies, published by the South African Star newspaper, showed that the miners were shot in the back while running away.

The post-mortem results suggested that the strikers posed no danger to law enforcement at the time of the shooting.

An official spokesman refused to confirm or deny the accusations on what is already being dubbed the Marikana Massacre – the most violent episode in South Africa’s history since the 1994 end of apartheid.

Miners and their supporters dance after being released outside the court in Ga Rankuwa, near Pretoria.(REUTERS / Mike Hutchings)

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Diamond or precious mineral miners should directly be allowed to share in the profits to 401K worth of profit (if South Africa is every African citizen’s country, hence ALL wealth should be shared equally), before being laid off and allowing other citizens to work and get 401K rich as well. This way wealth and work are distributed. AFTER several generations when everyone has 401K, THEN will be the top level people be allowed to get more wealth, but even then only at a reasonable limit which as proposed by ‘Capitalism with Socialist Limits” 5,000 times 401K (thats 20 million btw).

At a population of 48 million, I am certain that ALL Africans are millionaires in their own right if every person had an equal share in that diamond wealth alone much less the mineral wealth. Are there at least 10 carats of diamonds for each African? Are there at least 100 ounces of gold per African? IF Africa belongs to all Africans, then all Africans are entitled to an equal share of the wealth. WEALTH DISTRIBUTION should raise every African to a position of wealth, that diamond, gold or mineral wealth is EVERY AFRICAN’s after all. Land distribution should ensure every African has a home. This is WEALTH apartheid, even after racial apartheid has ended, those miners could free poor Africans from rich Africans, heck even import ‘foreign’ (white perhaps?) indentured labour to mine for them later on since African might well have far more than 10 carats of diamonds for every African!

Think clearly 99% Africans, and show countries like USA or even Russia that plutocrats and extreme wealth sequesterers already have enough wealth to change every African’s life forever by voting for 99% types who will write laws that distribute wealth equitably and disallow extreme sequestration. Perhaps 20 million limits? Russia would concur being the fatherland of Communism, equality for all not 1% holding everything. Vote for 99% types unaffiliated to extreme wealth plutocrats and unrelated to GLC interests only!

Then see below article for a reason to redistribute the wealth of several unwarranted and unjustified billionaires in Malaysia, a quasi apartheid and quasi fundo state . . .

The foreign ministry said in a statement here that Najib would be accompanied by wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, several Cabinet ministers and senior government officials.

The annual summit, themed ‘Integrate to Grow, Innovate to Prosper’, to be attended by heads of state and government from the 21-member economies, will be preceded by the 24th Apec Ministerial Meeting (AMM) on Sept 5 and 6, and Apec Senior Officials Meeting on Sept 2 and 3.

The prime minister will also explore new and innovative ideas to further enhance cooperation among the 21 Apec member economies in these areas.

Najib is also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with several Apec leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The outcome of the leaders’ meeting will be documented in a Joint Leaders’ Declaration while the 20th AMM outcome will be documented in the Joint Ministerial Statement.

Apec, a forum set up in 1989, for 21 Pacific Rim member economies to discuss issues on regional economic cooperation, trade and investment, accounts for 55 per cent of the world’s gross domestic product and 49 per cent of global trade.

Najib is also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with several Apec leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Note that if a Russian migrated to Malaysia, the APARTHEID currently affecting all non-Muslims and non-Malays would also be applied upon the migrant Russian. This means that all members of the BRICS and effectively 40% of the world’s population, if migrating to Malaysia would face 2nd class citizenships while if Malaysians migrate to the same countries Malaysians will not face 2nd class citizenships in turn! I hope that President Putin will raise this issue with Malaysia’s PM Najib and remind APEC that UN Human Rights are to be respected by all and that APARTHEID in Malaysia via the Bumiputra Special Privileges are against the spirit of the UN premise of equality among all mankind, and illegal because Malaysia is a signatory of the UNHCR as well the fact that Islam disallows something like Bumiputra APARTHEID.

More than half of NHS nurses say cleaning services for their ward are inadequate
One in five say their trust has cut back on cleaning in the last year

Nurses looking after patients in hospitals have also been forced to disinfect toilets and mop floors as hard-up NHS trusts cut spending on cleaning.

More than half of NHS nurses told researchers that they believed cleaning services for their ward were inadequate, with about a fifth saying their hospital trust had made cuts in the last year.

The survey of 1,000 nurses and health assistants revealed a third had cleaned toilets or mopped floors in the last 12 months.

Burden: A ward is deep-cleaned at the Royal Free Hospital in London. A survey suggests that NHS nurses across the country are having to carry out more and more cleaning tasks themselves

Some also reported having to clean corridors, computers, nursing stations and offices.

Two in five respondents said they had cleaned a bed area or single room vacated by a patient who was infectious.

Four in five said they had performed the same task following the discharge of a non-infectious patient.

Worryingly, almost three quarters of respondents said they had not been trained for such cleaning practices.

And 37 per cent of nurses admitted that their trust would make a bed available to patients even if it had not been cleaned properly.

The survey was conducted by the Nursing Times.

‘This is not about saying nurses are too posh to wash,’ the Royal College of Nursing’s adviser on infection prevention and control, Rose Gallagher, told the magazine.

‘Cleaning in hospitals is not the same as cleaning your own home.’

A new specification on cleaning in hospitals was published last year by the Department of Health, National Patient Safety Agency and the British Standards Institution.

Scaled back: About a fifth of nurses said their hospital trust had made cuts to cleaning services in the last year

However, the new guidelines did not specify the appropriate cleaning duties for nurses, the magazine reported.

Tracey Cooper, president of the Infection Prevention Society, said: ‘Nurses are the guardians of the standards of their wards.

‘Cleaning has always been an integral part of what nurses do.

‘The risk comes when there is a lack of clarity about process and who is responsible because then you get things that nobody cleans.’

Andrew Jones, president of the Association of Healthcare Cleaning Professionals, said it was ‘inevitable’ that nurses would end up doing some cleaning of patient areas during out-of-hour periods.

But he said that the best practice for hospital wards was to have a dedicated cleaner.

‘When that happens we get better cleanliness standards and a better motivated workforce,’ Mr Jones said. ‘Some of the responses would suggest that’s not the case as often as we would want.’

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Suggest that 5% of salary be docked from every 10 nurses monthly to hire a menial worker so that nurses don’t get surly for having to do menial work then take out their irritation on the patients and doctors. In smaller clinics of at least 5 nurses, 10% could be deducted for the same purpose. Nurses are mid level technicians, are NOT menials and would prefer to lose 5% to 10% of salary for never ever having to do menial work again. Did I get this solution right nurses?

The California state legislature has passed a bill approving Google’s self-driving cars this week, allowing autonomous vehicles to be operated on state roads – including highways.

­The bill, known as SB 1298, allows these “robot” cars to be tested on California’s roads and outlines rules and standards for the driverless vehicles. The bill passed the State Assembly, with a vote of 74-2, and the Senate unanimously.

The bill allows the self-driving cars onto the state’s roads for testing purposes only. Drivers must have the option to manually take control of the vehicle.

The new legislation will also require the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to form and adopt new standards for the innovative vehicles by 2015. If signed into law by the governor, California will be the second state to allow the driverless cars on its roads. Nevada set up its own standards in February, and requires that the cars keep red license plates and actual humans sitting in them.

Google has been testing its autonomous cars for years. The corporation has already logged over 300,000 miles without an accident while the car was controlled solely by its computer. Google recently announced that its self-driving cars could be ready for public use in less than 10 years. Ford recently argued consumers can expect to see such cars on the market by 2017.

“It sounds space age, but it’s almost here,” California State Senator Alex Padilla, who authored the bill, said, as quoted by the San Jose Mercury News. “If we can reduce the number of accidents, that alone is worth doing this bill.”

Google has only had one accident involving its autonomous vehicles – but it had been controlled by a human at the time of the accident.

“Through the use of computers, sensors and other systems, an autonomous vehicle is capable of analyzing the driving environment more quickly and operating the vehicle more safely,” Padilla said when he introduced SB 1298. “Autonomous vehicles have the potential to significantly reduce traffic fatalities and improve safety on our roads and highways.”

Two years ago, Google successfully tested its driverless cars on the famous Lombard Street hill, which is one of America’s steepest and curviest streets.

But Google is not the only company working on the new technology. BMW and Audi are also developing self-driving car prototypes, and Cadillac said it hopes to include a “Super Cruise” function that allows its vehicles to automatically steer, break and center themselves in a lane.

While the cars may in many cases increase driving safety, there are also long-standing worries that the vehicle computer systems could crash and cause accidents. Some people have expressed concern over who would be responsible for autonomous car crashes – the manufacturer or the owner?

These issues are likely to be at the center of the debate as Google continues to test its vehicles in California and Nevada.

“It’s not far away that many of us will be driving autonomous vehicles,” said Dan Gage of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. “We’re moving in that direction. That fully autonomous car of the future is not that far away.”

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Armour those cars with steel plates, mount with weapons like grenade launchers and machine guns, and send 75 million of the modified clunkers to Iran. Park one outside each Iranian home or a thousand outside any military base. USA might yet win via technology. But the window to act might be closing once Iran has the electronic counter measures . . . would make history in the mode of conquest or combat meanwhile. The first remote controlled war . . . Self drive cars remote controlled via satellite from your teen kid’s home (USA doesnt have 75 million soldiers now do they? Use those online gamers to control the cars then!).

If Israel has enough conventional missiles (no pollutive nukes, irradiation will destroy Israel as well if nukes are used) to carpet bomb every single military base or facility in Iran at once, winning might also be possible.

But the civilian population retaliating might be the factor that still puts Israel’s lights out. Barely 3? million Israeli soldiers out of 10 million or less population, cannot handle a wave of 15+ (if not 30% of Iran’s population – able bodied persons not counting women and children) million angry Iranian ‘terrorists’. What about Iraq? USA can’t even control Iraq. So what attacking Iran going to do to the US economy?

WASHINGTON: The United States has significantly scaled down a planned joint military exercise with Israel most likely because of disagreements on how to deal with Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Time magazine has reported on its website.

Citing “well-placed sources in both countries”, the magazine said Washington was slashing by more than two-thirds the number of US troops going to Israel, and reducing the number and potency of missile interception systems that will be used in the exercise dubbed Austere Challenge 12, which is scheduled for October.

Instead of approximately 5,000 US troops, the Pentagon will send between 1,200 and 1,500. Patriot anti-missile systems will arrive in Israel as planned, but the crews to operate them will not, according to the report.

Instead of two Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense warships, the new plan calls for sending just one, and even the remaining vessel is listed as a “maybe”, the report said.

Basically what the Americans are saying is, “We don’t trust you,” a senior Israeli military official is quoted by Time as saying.

Time said the official explanation was budget restrictions.

But the reductions coincided with growing tensions between the administrations of President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about Israel’s threats to launch an airstrike on Iran over its nuclear programme.

Israeli officials quoted in the country’s media later today insisted the Pentagon’s decision had nothing to do with any differences between Obama and Netanyahu over Iran.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

USA has a strategic overview and inside knowledge on US finances. This is not a trust issue but making a strong message. This is not the time to fight Iran. How about consolidating Iraq first?

If the people of USA would even want to . . . put weapons into the hands of the young and old then send everyone in USA on a one way ticket (and 1 month of rations?) to butcher (forget about occupation, impossible when 75 million suicide bombers could be ready to destroy any occupation – think Green Zone Iraq, impossible . . . ) everyone in the Middle East. 300 million ‘citizen troops’ should put paid to every ‘terrorist country’ with lots of spares for a MadMax style occupation afterwards, and is also a good way to handle the over-population problem. Alternatively send just 30 million armed US citizens to Iraq and consolidate THE WHOLE OF Iraq into a Green Zone . . . AGAIN. Remember though for the 1st option, that Russia and China will be in a position to twist the USA’s arms for the next few decades if not outright invade the USA . . . so does the USA dare to want to abolish the 2nd Amendment? An armed populace is impossible to control and invade.

As the high-tech unit of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the Second Artillery Corps (SAC) has fully completed the transition from “troops in the mountains” to “troops on the wheel” over the past 10 years. The wide use of solid fuel and vehicle-mounted missile launchers for both conventional and nuclear ballistic missiles has greatly improved the SAC’s mobility, and thus increased its ability to deal with satellite reconnaissance.

Established on July 1, 1966, the SAC comprises the ground-to-ground strategic nuclear missile forces, conventional operational-tactical missile forces, and support units. Its mobility and strike range has increased steadily.

China’s strategic missiles have grown from a single model to a big family of various short-range, medium-range, long-range, and intercontinental missiles. In addition, the wide use of solid fuel has made its conventional and nuclear ballistic missiles smaller and lighter.

At smaller sizes, China’s missiles have become more powerful, more accurate, and faster. Missile forces are always a focus of other countries’ satellite reconnaissance, and mobile launch is an effective way to deal with such reconnaissance and escape possible attacks.

The SAC, China’s strategic missile forces, has greatly improved its precision strike capacity over the past decade. At present, all of its missiles can be launched by vehicle-mounted launchers, making it possible to conduct strikes in all terrains, all directions, and all weathers. The SAC’s First Conventional Missile Brigade, which was established 19 years ago, has launched missiles more than 100 times, and never missed its targets. According to the PLA Pictorial, the First Conventional Missile Brigade using China’s independently developed new-generation missiles comprehensively beat another brigade using one of the world’s most advanced air-defense missiles in a recent military drill simulating the interception of ballistic missiles by air-defense missiles. Last year, the SAC’s first all-female unit made its debut on a plateau, where 35 female artillerists launched missiles that all hit their targets.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Not a single nuke used? Possible. So if China fills those missiles with ‘knockout gas’, fires those missiles at ALL military bases and major cities in targeted countries, THEN scram-jets tanks and troops (perhaps robotic?) abroad to occupy those countries en masse, all countries targeted would awaken in a few hours to a Chinese jack boot (armed with tranquiliser darts?) standing over them. Hear this Japan? So please stop harrassing China over sovereign territory. Barring bunkers or other fortified positions that must be hit with missiles or artillery, China could take out the whole of Japan without killing a single soul. Any other nations on the offense or involved in offensive actions against Chinese, please correct yourselves.

Orbital bombardment could replace nukes anytime, so civvies won’t need to worry about fallout issues from the more advanced nations. Hear that nuke armed nations? Either use conventionals or use orbital bombardment paradigms. Nukes are radioactive and everyone loses, nothing to occupy or win afterwards, radioactive fallout destroys everything by making everything irradiated . . .

Shark fins in a display case at the entrance to a restaurant in Sanyuanqiao, Chaoyang district in March. (Global Times/Guo Yingguang)

Beijing has been revealed as the biggest market for shark fin in China, where at least 100 million yuan ($16 million) is spent on the consumption of this traditional Chinese delicacy daily, according to the China Economic Weekly.

It reported that daily consumption in Beijing is about 7,500 kilograms and the price for a bowl of shark fin soup can reach 1,800 yuan in some luxury hotels.

“I don’t think shark fin dishes are too delicious to give up, but you know, it’s like a symbol standing for sincerity and identity. My guests will know they are important to me if I order shark fin or Maotai, the best-known alcohol in China, for them,” said a businessman surnamed Chen from Shanxi Province, who runs a real estate company.

According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, about 73 million sharks are killed each year for their fins and half of them are sold to Hong Kong.

Although the campaign to reject shark fin consumption is gaining traction in China, it has not put a chill into the shark fin market in Beijing, the China Economic Weekly report said.

Liufu Shark Fin Restaurant in Beijing Financial Street in Xicheng district told the Global Times shark fin is the specialty of their restaurant, which attracts many customers every day.

“The price for a bowl of shark fin soup in our restaurant ranges from 128 to 1,200 yuan,” said an employee working at the restaurant.

Wang Xue, from Beijing-based environmental NGO Green Beagle who is responsible for its “China Zero Shark Fin,” project said that a survey it conducted at the end of 2011 shows that over 99 percent of the 131 four and five-star hotels in Beijing still sold shark fin, and only one refused to provide the dish.

“Although the situation seems better now, after some enterprises and hotels banned shark fins, these dishes are still popular in China, which is the biggest global market for the fins. I think the figure of 100 million yuan daily is not an exaggeration,” Wang said.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

A quota and price rise based on required limits to fishing must be applied for a decade or few for fish and shark numbers to repopulate. Eventually they could apply ‘natural death’ fishing paradigm when numbers are so great that enough sharks die naturally (probably will need GPS locators so that the fishermen can pick up the carcasses and those massive 200+ year old fins!). Meanwhile all sharks for now could have protected zones (ASEAN territorial trouble-makers, this is not about freedom of navigation but protection of wildlife . . . ) for repopulating after which quota can be raised accordingly so that populations increase rather than decrease.

Editor’s note: Jesse Eaves works as the senior policy adviser for child protection with World Vision, an international Christian humanitarian organization working in nearly 100 countries around the world. Mary C. Ellison currently serves as the director of policy for Polaris Project, a leading organization in the United States combating all forms of human trafficking and serving both U.S. citizens and foreign national victims, including men, women, and children. Together they are calling on U.S voters to make sure their senators pass a key anti-slavery bill.

With the upcoming elections, you can’t turn on the television without seeing a negative campaign ad or heated news segment giving Americans a glimpse of the political divisions that currently exist in our country.

While politicians argue over our future government, we lose sight of how the actions of our current government are impacting the lives of real people right now, like the millions of enslaved men, women and children in the U.S. and around the world at risk if Congress fails to pass the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act by the end of the year.

Track the bill’s progress

Human trafficking is “the recruitment, transport, transfer, harboring or receipt of a person by such means as threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, or fraud or deception for the purpose of exploitation.” But it also has another name: modern day slavery. There are now more slaves in the world today than any other time in human history.

Sadly, this is not an issue that’s unique to developing countries. It also happens right herein our own backyards.

Organizations like World Vision and Polaris Project work with trafficking survivors in the U.S. and abroad every day to help them regain what they have lost as a result of being trafficked.

Survivors come to us from across the globe, having been trafficked by spouses, by strangers, by employers and others all promising hope and a future to those in need.

Instead, these survivors have been beaten, insulted, demeaned and degraded, been forced into commercial sex or labor, worked in horrendous conditions for little or no pay, and with the constant fear that they themselves or others would be harmed or even killed.

Despite their brokenness, we daily see the resilience of the human spirit shine in the eyes of our survivors.

We have seen them graduate from English as a Second Language courses, get married, have children, find jobs, move into and make their own homes and have what we all want and need: the freedom to live their lives independently.

We are able to identify, assist, and humbly walk alongside these courageous survivors because the United States has created a framework to combat human trafficking that seeks to protect trafficking victims, prevent human trafficking and prosecute human traffickers – and it is called the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA). Because of this law and those who work to use it each day, these survivors have found their way back to freedom and dignity.

Twelve years ago in 2000, a divided Congress came together to pass the landmark piece of legislation that is the cornerstone of all U.S. efforts to combat modern-day slavery in our country and around the world.

In 2003, 2005, and 2008 Congress unanimously passed the reauthorization. But on October 1, 2011, this important piece of legislation, the largest piece of human rights legislation in U.S. history, expired and – for the first time since its historic passage – Congress is at risk of failing to reauthorize the legislation by the end of its session.

If the bill isn’t reauthorized in September, we risk losing funding for 2013.

This failure threatens United States’ global leadership in the fight against modern-day slavery and jeopardizes the progress made over the last decade.

If Congress fails to reauthorize the TVPA by the end of the year, no one is certain of the impact on the 20 million people currently enslaved around the world.

This legislation benefits both survivors who participate in the programs created and funded by the TVPA and advocates who work daily to fight trafficking.

In the United States, TVPA-funded programs strengthen prevention of trafficking, fund taskforces across the country to protect victims and prosecute traffickers, and fund important tools such as the National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline.

Congress is setting a dangerous precedent for future reauthorizations and ending a signal to other countries that fighting modern-day slavery is not a priority for the United States.

This is dangerous, not because it fails to recognize modern-day slavery as an issue, but because it will affect the men, women, and children around the world and here at home that suffer from slavery and those committed to fighting it.

For the last 12 years we have been a leader in the fight against modern-day slavery. Countries abroad will watch the U.S. elections closely to determine our priorities.

Congress needs to send a clear message, that no matter the outcome of the election, ending modern-day slavery is still a priority for the United States.

As Americans, we have a role to play. According to the senators themselves, it is up to the people to use the power of their voices to put a stop to this.

This is your chance to make a difference in this fight, so if you believe it is wrong to enslave another human being, we urge you to join thousands of Americans across the country on September 4, 2012 for the National TVPRA Call-In Day. On that day, we will flood Senate offices with calls urging passage of the Senate bill.

This is not the time for political games and bickering, but a time to put aside what divides us and unite on an injustice we all know is wrong. We hope you’ll join us. Learn more and help spread the word at http://www.passTVPRAnow.org

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Limit the wealth of the plutocracy to 20 million and then use that collected ‘fat of the 1% people’ fund to free everyone including these supposed 10-30 million slaves. USA has not even cleaned up or finished Iraq either, so what about the debt slaves in USA? If the country belongs to everyone, then distribute all unused state land to the homeless and starving. Capitalism needs socialist limits on sequestration. And focusing on the issue of ending INTERNAL debt is as important as ending slavery. When 200 million debt slaves exist in the USA, talking about 20 million slaves elsewhere worldwide is just plain mockery.

You’d think an outfit like CNN or FB would want to do some good instead of drown voices of those who bother. End Apartheid in Malaysia!

a) Lack of free education? All persons holding above 2 billion needs their excess wealth to be ‘requisitioned’. State MUST limit fee charges to no more than 10-20% of salaries. (None allowed to hold more than 2 billion). From reports, people in USA cannot afford education . . .
b) Homelessness? All persons holding above 200 million needs their excess wealth to be ‘requisitioned’. State MUST re-distribute unused state land and stop all foreclosures on single home owners in debt. (Suggest that none allowed to hold more than 200 million) From reports, people in USA are homeless . . .
c) At civilisational war in a foreign land and losing the battle while running out of funds? All persons above 20 million needs their excess wealth to be ‘requisitioned’. State MUST retain 2nd Amendment laws to deal with terrorists etc.. (Suggest that none allowed to hold more than 2 million) From reports, USA is losing . . .
d) Starvation? All persons holding above 2 million needs their excess wealth to be ‘requisitioned’. State MUST create state owned staple food farms (brand name snacks, biscuits with cream filling or sprinkle and chocolate covered biscuits does doesn’t count) and distribution centres etc.. (Suggest that none allowed to hold more than 20 million) From reports, people in USA are actually going hungry . . .

Young women are replacing shapeless cover-ups for tight-fitting skirts
Religious leaders say fashionable youngsters need to be reined in
Government say it’s a woman’s right to choose what she wears

A culture rift is threatening to split the young and old of Iraq as Western trends grow increasingly fashionable amongst the country’s youth.

Young women are replacing shapeless cover-ups that protect their modesty with ankle-baring skirts and tight blouses, while men strut around in tight clothes and fashionable haircuts.

But although the styles are the de rigueur to many Western countries, they appear shockingly brazen in conservative Iraq – and now religious leaders are trying to strip people of their fashionable dress.

The trends have prompted Islamic clerics in at least two Iraqi cities to mobilize the ‘fashion police’ in the name of protecting religious values.

Fashion forward: Iraqi women are starting to sport new trends as they shop at a women’s fashion store in Diwaniyah, 130 kilometers (80 miles) south of Baghdad, Iraq

Mayada Hamid, 32, wearing a pink leopard-print headscarf with jeans, a blue blouse and lots of sparkly eyeliner says she has encountered hostility from the police for her bold look: ‘I see the way they (police) look at me – they don’t like it.

‘It’s just suppression.’

The violations of old Iraqi norms have grown especially egregious, religious officials say, since the August 20 end of Ramadan, Islam’s holy month.

In the last two weeks, posters and banners have been hanging along the streets of Kazimiyah, sternly reminding women to wear an abaya – a long, loose black cloak that covers the body from shoulders to feet.

A similar warning came from Diwaniyah, a Shiite city about 130 kilometers (80 miles) south of the capital, where some posters have daubed a bright red X over pictures of women wearing pants.

Other banners praise women who keep their hair fully covered beneath a headscarf.
New look: Iraqi women, seen here shopping in Diwaniyah, are beginning to experiment with bold fashions – which have angered some clerks

Religious officials suspect young Iraqis have got carried away in celebrating the end of Ramadan and now need to be reined in.

‘We support personal freedoms, but there are places that have a special status,’ said Sheik Mazin Saadi, a Shiite cleric from Kazimiyah, home to the double gold-domed shrine that is one of Shiite Islam’s holiest sites.

He said the area’s residents lobbied Baghdad’s local government to ban unveiled women from walking around the neighborhood, including its sprawling open-air market that attracts people from across Iraq.

‘The women started to follow to this order,’ Saadi said.

But government leaders in Baghdad say they’ve issued no such ban and ordered some of the warning posters removed.

They have also championed a woman’s freedom to decide if she should cover her hair.

The rule ‘is only for the female visitors who go inside the shrine itself,’ said Sabar al-Saadi, chairman of the Baghdad provincial council’s legal committee. ‘We think that wearing a veil for women in Iraq is a personal decision.’

Muslim women generally wear headscarves or veils in public out of modesty, and female worshippers are required to wear an abaya or other loose robes in shrines and mosques.
New fashion front: Iraqi women, seen here at a market in Kazimiyah neighborhood, Bagdad,are beginning to defy religious leaders in their quest for a new look

But following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and the fall of dictator Saddam Hussein, Western styles have crept into Iraq’s fashion palate.

Tight-fitting clothing, stylish shoes and men’s edgy hairstyles have begun to be a familiar uniform for the young and some younger women have even begun to completely forgo the hijab, or headscarf.

Their parents and grandparents fear Western influence will smother Iraq’s centuries of culture and respect for religion.

Fadhil Jawad, 65, a gold seller near the Kazimiyah shrine, complained that foreign influences have infiltrated the country’s customs:

‘We as Iraqis do not respect our traditions.

‘Legs can be seen, there are low-cut shirts.

‘And all, very, very tight. I think these Iraqis who are wearing these things have come back from Syria, Dubai and Egypt.

‘They probably spent too much time in nightclubs. The families in Kazimiyah are conservative.

‘These young people – nobody can control them. They should be given freedoms, but they should know their limits.’

Several young adults strolling the Kazimiyah gold market on Sunday accused the religious class of trying to pull Iraq back to the dark ages, a sentiment that human rights activist Hana Adwar echoed.

‘It is an aggression on the rights of not only religious minorities, but also on secular Muslim women who do not want to wear veils,’ said Adwar, head of the Baghdad-based Iraqi Hope Association.

Men, too, have been targeted in the fashion flap: Edgy haircuts, tattoos and body piercings have angered religious authorities. But Hassan Mahdi, 22, said he does not care.

‘No, hell no, nobody can tell me what to do,’ said Mahdi, sporting a tight turquoise Adidas tracksuit and a fashionably untidy haricut at the Kazimiyah market.

So far, it appears, the fashion police have stopped short of taking any real steps.

Guards at two security checkpoints in Kazimiyah said they have not been ordered to stop daring dressers from entering the market, and 17-year-old Ali Sayeed Abdullah said his slicked-up ghairstyle didn’t prevent him from going into the shrine. ‘Nobody objected,’ he said. ‘But if there is a ban on this, I will change it,’ referring to his hairstyle.

But some women have been handed tissues at Kazimiyah checkpoints and told to wipe off their makeup before entering the market, said resident Hakima Mahdi, 59.

She said: ‘This is very good, it’s respect to the imam, respect to this holy place.’

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Target the upper classes not the lower classes. Upper classes should be disallowed. Lower classes can wear what they want because they are the outer society of sorts, much like airport/seaport cities as opposed to suburbs. And when the upper classes affirm culturally correct clothes are ‘upper class’, all those middle and lower classes who hope to someday be upper class will also follow suit. Muslims lack any understanding of reverse psychology don’t they? Finally upper classes are fewer in number and will be easier to control. The lower classes however have nothing to lose and this just provokes popular revolt and favouring of the West instead which can lead to angry mobs that topple oppressive fashion police.

ARTICLE 14

House of Lords staff banned from bantering with colleagues in case it is deemed offensive – by Chris Hastings and Peter Henn – PUBLISHED: 21:00 GMT, 1 September 2012 | UPDATED: 21:00 GMT, 1 September 2012

New rules have been branded ‘Orwellian’
Staff told banter can ‘alienate’ and upset other staff

It prides itself on being the home of independent thought and robust free speech.

But now the House of Lords has been branded ‘Orwellian’ after it advised its staff to avoid office banter on the grounds that it can be offensive.

Employees of the second chamber have been advised that even seemingly harmless chat can lead to other colleagues feeling left out and alienated.
Hundreds of staff have been told their banter could offend and alienate colleagues

Hundreds of staff have been told their banter could offend and alienate colleagues

The advice has been issued to hundreds of staff as part of a series of taxpayer-funded equality and diversity sessions on ‘cultural awareness’.

During the two-hour sessions, staff are told that the ‘golden rule’ of treat others as you would like to be treated has been replaced by the ‘platinum rule’ of treat others as they would like to be treated.

Participants are advised that individuals can be defined by their body size, place of birth and even their hobbies and interests just as much as by their race, gender or ethnicity.

It is therefore important to ‘see beyond’ a person’s membership of a particular group and to treat them all as individuals.

A subsequent section on ‘effective communication’ advises participants to ‘avoid banter’, ‘to allow people to self-identify’ and ‘to make minority groups visible using inclusive terms’.

The new advice will see an end to banter between staff members in the second chamber of the House of Lords

Details of the House’s training programmes have been obtained by this newspaper under Freedom of Information laws. During the past 12 months, almost 300 House of Lords employees have been on equality and diversity courses at a cost to taxpayers of just over £18,000.

The House’s clampdown on banter has infuriated campaigners and writers, who insist it is part and parcel of office life. Chrissie Maher, founder of the Plain English Campaign, said: ‘I thought the House of Lords is supposed to be a place where people can speak their minds.

‘I think it’s healthy to have banter and I don’t think it isolates people. People can always join in, and if they don’t want to take part they can always listen and learn.’

Australian novelist and avowed feminist Kathy Lette said: ‘The greatest thing about the English is your wit, and banter is your lifeblood.

‘British self-deprecation and love of wordplay is what sustained you through the Blitz. And now they want to ban banter in the workplace. Where are we suddenly? A Russian gulag? A sci-fi Orwellian nightmare of robotic people? Remove office banter and it will be a case of the bland leading the bland.’

No more of that: 89-year-old Baroness Trumpington reacts accordingly to a comment about her age from Lord King of Bridgewater last year

A ban on banter would be unsustainable on the floor of the House of Lords, where members delight in trading insults.

Last year, veteran Tory peer Baroness Trumpington, 89, was caught on camera giving a two-finger salute to Lord King after he made an unflattering reference to her age during a debate on war veterans.

Her gesture became an instant internet hit. In 2004, Lord Higgins accused former Pensions Minister Malcolm Wicks of being ‘generally confused’ during a discussion.

A spokesman for the House of Lords last night insisted that banter could be ‘misunderstood’ and ‘cause offence even where none was intended’.

She said: ‘The House of Lords values diversity and provides training to enable its staff to explore and understand issues, such as behaviour and language sensitivities, that may arise from working with a broad range of people.

‘It is important all staff are treated with dignity and respect, and we offer training to ensure this is the case.’

Diversity Dynamics, the company that provides the training sessions for the House of Lords, last night declined to comment.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

No such thing as ‘bantering with colleagues’. All communication especially at workplace is intended to create hierarchy by. This is not a bad move and increases professionalism IF not pointed or in a consciously inoffensive manner. Good work. Want to ‘banter’? Not with workmates, and that is also why ethics issues arise in relationships at the workplace which the more aware companies much less government disallows. Want to find a mate? Don’t look at the office, especially the ‘people answerable to’ government offices. If there is a genuine liking between staff, they will definitely get together outside of work in spite of professionalism issues.

A teaching assistant was arrested on Tuesday after leaving her six-year-old daughter with a group of homeless people so that she could allegedly go and satisfy her ‘manic sexual rage’, by prostituting herself.

Laura Lee Kelly left the young girl with the strangers, in Evergreen Park, Mesa, Arizona. She asked them to babysit and handed them beers in return for their trouble, Fox News reported.

Kelly then went and had sex with two men, allegedly in exchange for cash.

Shocking: 43-year-old Laura Lee Kelly was charged with child abuse after leaving her daughter with strangers while she went to have sex

Abandoned by her mother with no water or cover from the heat the toddler was rescued four hours later after a concerned passerby called police.

Shocking: 43-year-old Laura Lee Kelly was charged with child abuse after leaving her daughter with strangers while she went to have sex

Abandoned by her mother with no water or cover from the heat the toddler was rescued four hours later after a concerned passerby called police.

She was removed from the care of her ‘babysitters’ and is now being looked after by other family members.

Police officers found Kelly sitting in a grassy area with a man who told them the 43-year-old had been ‘coming and going all afternoon and even asked him if he “wanted to (expletive)”‘.

Kelly was arrested, admitting that it was a ‘bad idea’ to leave her child with the strangers, especially having provided them with alcohol.

She said she ‘she felt a manic sexual rage inside of her which she cannot control and needed to have sex,’ according to court documents.
Cruel: Evergreen Park in Mesa, Arizona, where Kelly abandoned her child for four hours

One of the group given charge of the child, Maureen Wilson, told Abc15.com they bought gummy sweets for the child at a nearby store and were told by the clerk that Kelly ‘was prostituting in front of my store’.

A classroom teaching assistant she has been suspended from her role at Whitman Elementary School where she had worked since the spring.

She was charged with child abuse and has since been released from jail.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Nice way to put that. Manic sexual rage . . . whoa thats the spirit! Do you know how rare that is in some places? Sickly and stricken lot compared . . . meanwhile release Laura with a warning. This is not a worthy case to imprison a woman who went hobby whoring to relax. Some sick people relax by abusing others. Some quite healthful, relax by f—king. Others relax by returning abuse that others pile on them and their friends. A rare few harbour grievances until the abusers are all in hell, or meet them in hell. But who’s going to look after Laura’s baby when Laura is not having sex and now in prison ON the taxpayer’s funds?

Laura should get those same family members to look after the kid instead of the general homeless, though the homeless could well do with the drinks. Laura’s spreading the wealth. Maybe the homeless, and women like Laura could be briefed on how to organise their time or what to do when needing to drop off their kids. Also RLDs are needed for every district area, as so long as there are adults, people will want to have sex. Laura while being rather disorganized and ad hoc about expensive babysitters, is having her human rights trampled on by not having a RLD zone to work from in her spare time and also potentially by not having some form of community creche (perhaps hospital creches or police stations could double up as a drop off, with time limit offenses being applied for children left too long or even overnight? (Careful mothers, vaccinations can and do occur illegally . . . ) where the children can be dropped off in a safe community area. Never looked at England as a place that lacked consideration for legislation or venue for the above even as women keep clamouring for breast feeding booths but entirely neglect the above . . . Laura, say hi to Chinchilla even though some of us may never visit Costa Rica . . . tick tick tick . . . teak teak teak . . . was someone talking to Benedict? Refusal to exspose pedo-priest sins results in ‘forked luck’ . . .

ARTICLE 16

Denunciation of ‘Cult Of Man’ Religions – posted by Father H., on 7th September 2012

Subsuming the 4 earlier astral forms . . . ‘since beginning of civilisation’ elder gods 20,000+ years back (Polytheism : Egyptian/Taoist/Hindu – think Agni and how Buddhism attempts to subsume the Fire God, makes an attack on Taoism which clearly states that hair is the gift of the Gods to Mankind by SHAVING monastic skinheads . . . ) DO NOT fight upstart Monotheists and Buddhists who are mere Anthropological gods unable to ensconce the ENTIRE Universe (about 4300+ and 2500 years for both, then the post 1500 AD wannabe Malays in Asia trying to NLP their way into Humanity’s Akhasic without understanding the spirit of the 3rd form of Monotheism or even ensuring the UN Charter is respected by ending APARTHEID of Bumiputra Special Privileges via Islam, daring even to manipulate the Avatars of the day . . . ) . . . we were here first, says the ones who know and took the elder path, cutting of hair is like CIRCUMCISION, and the LGBT movement looks quite like the reunity of Binary-Androgynous Spirit of Man where the Monotheists and Buddhists illegally bind the same into technology (cars, phones etc.) which will FAIL when the spirit is recalled in times of need . . . these above types are indulging in Spiritual Crimes and overstepping the authority ‘God’ has given them or that they have ‘earned’ to a point.

Cultists, Buddhist or Christian have a right to choose to be Cultists but do not have a right to force others to obey or follow their lifestyles via governmental laws, the psychiatric establishment, or spiritual techniques which are SPIRITUALLY ILLEGAL. Obey or suffer . . . the conglomeration of lost souls (aborted ‘Foetids’ or ‘Fetii’ alog with all those executed or harmed for being LGBT, driven underground in the male female legalistically dominant dichotomy world of social interaction is now intent on tearing the fabric of reality like the unnatural and miserable construct binary gender (which does not exist in any and all realities), is as much as a cult of Manform-Worship as a selfish failure compared to the multi-cognitive and universal faiths which had crocodiles (of which many are intersexed), insects, elements, of which man is a part and NOT dominant – until the rightful place of ALL creation is given proper place, every species or even ‘Gender-Type’ (M then F, the LGBTQ) lost is an indictment t6o the unsuitability of binary gender minded faiths to govern or administer (even as they do have a right to exist and retain their limiting proclivities) . . . GMO meanwhile is a war criminal action if anything which for certain offends Nature itself – we do not know what happens in the ether and astral when a GMO species is not properly labelled for consensual choice, even as Natural species could well be what keeps ‘Relity’ stable via ‘Spiritual Lineages’ unknowable to mere humans who can barely touch telekinesis and telepathy . . .

People are all linked so if you have some people PRAYING obsessively or compulsively from sheer lack of intelligence, you end up with as many people on the other side of the world or fence, becoming OCD or Autistic from the psychic ‘noise’. Prayers even in auditory silence are hence psychically OFFENSIVE to all free peoples of the world, much less the same blared from loudspeakers. If those clerics will not consider this and keep forcing their will on all and sundry via prayer, then when some people start targeting these groups, who is to call them crazy?

This is the reason why China bans psychically manipulative groups like Falungong . . . this is PSYCHIC ABUSE. And the rule should be SILENCE IS GOLDEN, not pray all the time loudly internally, or extrenally enhanced with loudspeakers. Not learning the language that the prayer is conducted in helps, BUT subconsciously the psychically sensitive get insanity causing GIBBERISH instead. So religionists, you claim to be so transcendant while ignoring the above? Stop abusing secular society with prayers that are non-consensually imposed. SHHHHHHH! Inside and outside you abusers of ‘Sacred Silence’ . . . psychic violence/noise is offensive! All that religious ‘sliding/planking’ and prostrating around on the floor does cause HARM to the seculars, causes traffic accidents, spontaneous combustions, murderous weather systems. So don’t! Now time to get back to wine women and song . . .

Difference btn Overeaching Theravada and Limiting Mahayana

Theravada says enlightenment can be achieved in 1 life, encourages diligence. Mahayana says enlightenment can ONLY be achieved over many lives – in fact being 3-5 generations later ‘established’ and ‘recorded’, Mahayana is a bowlderised version of Theravada – that makes Mahayana in fact a religious FRANCHISE. Temple building par contractor enriching excellence, sales of paraphernalia, and con jobs BECAUSE the premise is am apathetic ‘since one cannot transcend in 1 life, might as well enjoy etc. . . . ‘ and indeed we see many well fed, and poorly read ‘monks’ in large SUVs and massive temples conning the public of donations in a materialist mindset of ‘since the monk is successful and so many people support them, they must be truly spiritual . . . ‘ in fact the MORE MATERIAL the ‘personality’ is, the LESS SPIRITUAL.

True spirituality seeks at very least longevity aand at most immortality, but to presume to sequester funds which should be circulating in society in luxurious buildings and fat bank accounts from lay people who need to work for a living (those who do not need to work are acceptable donors), is a sign of worship of the materialm, worship of money, an attempt at ‘stylized plurocracy’ (rich with ‘Monastic’ characteristics), as a priority instead of promoting better social values, righting wrongs in society by CHANGING BAD LAWS etc..

And some groups of monks in an establishment even parasite off not just the wealth of lay people, but the minds of others, especially the spiritually unwary or spiritually innocent with tantric (some sexual) methods, or psychiatric poisons that cause minds to be ‘open’ and ‘readable’. These are Evil aligned establishments and Evil aligned ‘monks’ (i.e. evil monks who encourage dramatic self immolations etc. rather than hard work which has no guarantee of allowing even a hermit’s life . . . overpopulated and too dense to be spiritual . . . one cannot be spiritual with the presence of the uncultivated masses around one . . . ).

Lay persons ‘joining’ a temple find that due to the ‘limited’ spaces, makes being part of tht particular group impossible. But they will certainly accept your money! Then there is the wealthy group that sets up their own monasteries and become their own abbots or abbesses ina spiritual free for all while being QUITE uncultivated and VERY MATERIAL. In fact the decision to be a Buddist does not require a single cent, does not expect a cent, the tonsure being FREE for those who cannot afford to spend money and has no need (by Theravada) to be part of an order. What does happen in such cases though is groups of beggars huddled along the streets in monk robes instead of WORKING to create their own temples to house and feed more ‘lazy and apathetic persons’ (well a discerning would be ‘Abbot’ could see who is real or not if the Aboot is even real to begin with) or off society via the ‘pity’ factor.

A real monk in context and in sync with the realites of today, would work and pay for their own living, monastic life is a LUXURY in these overpopulated conditions and the only real monk is a . . . monk who will be self funded. Religion is a luxury for the insular, there are no more forests to support hermits calling themselves monks. Would-be monks COULD work to own a patch of forest to experience what Buddha did but nothing else more. Anything else more is MATERIAL WORSHIP and worship of plutocracy. The most monastic thing to do would be to :

(i) redistribute state land and extreme levls of wealth holders’ wealth equally and
(ii) run for politics to abolish taxes (then leave after 2 terms) and
(iii) abolish all toll fees and ALL taxes to the poor (perhaps 2000 and below earners? . . . the middle class ENDS at 100K a year Romney, not begins at 200K a year . . . ) for freedom of movement (why punish simply because one owns a car? but for the wealthy that becomes wealth distribution instead)

;so that no more dependency or daylight robbery could be imposed on anyone, but like so many religious governments posing as religious, the state land remains fallow and sequestered instead of providing home and food to the homeless causing immense suffering, the taxes remain for those who cannot afford taxes, the toll booths remain preventing freedom of travel etc., technology that makes life easy to enrich Capitalists via Consumerism (to the benefit of the plutocracy) is withheld etc..

Who is a real spiritualist? The one who has logic to understand the above posted FACTS and tries to act and expose the flaws of society even at risk to life and spiritual health? Or the one who runs around talking nonsense in platitudinous ‘sermons’, driving in oversized fuel guzzler 4WDs and going to the tastiest foodie vegetarian cuisine restaurants (instead of eating as bland as possible to ‘not indulge the sense of taste and smell’ to train discipline) while looking wise, while watching others who could make a difference suffer and collecting money from people who cannot even retire?

As for the 99%ters, remember that religion is a luxury, if you cannot even retire, forget about spending money on paraphernalia or ‘donations’ and study the free texts on your faith of choice and live that religious life instead, consumerism of paraphernalia is MATERIALITY not spirituality . . .

Finally, a single temple fund could support 100-1000 poor for a lifetime or develop a meat growing lab so that the spiritual sin of killing will not fall on those seculars with no access. 100 monks being FED in a temple could support as many poor who could pledge to feed another poor person so instead of becoming a burden or drain on society, all monks could be contributors instead by WORKING to feed the poorest with basic staples for example (nothing fancy, just plain stuff) blue ocean style, not red ocean style. And most monasteries and monks are RED OCEAN humanity with too many part of the unaccountable wealth sequestration system, except they hide behind a wall of human flesh and robes, and the ethos of spiritual hierarchy . . . the odd greenie movement type picking up rubbish does more than a monk lounging around in marble clad halls does. Religion is indulgence that burdens society if not self funded, being dependent on the funds and ‘spiritual neediness’ of others.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Theocracy is always harmful whatever religion, and the way some of these ‘monks’ are behaving is quite authoritarian, being so uneducated and stagnated and such know-alls, refusing to accept the world in all the experiences and colour to be narrow and even fundamentalistic enough to self immolate . . . one needs no evidence to affirm the poor psychological state of monks or any extreme immersion faith types. They may be good at denying themselves and others, but are no joy to be around and suck the life out of the societies they live in and manipulate people negatively, with stagnating fundamentalism etc., while never doing a day of honest work, never laying a brick, never tilling the land, just whiling away precious time and life mumbling tonal-tantric-occult-scriptures uninvited against the unsuspecting, and polluting the general environment with psychic noise, extremism, apathy, sloth and manipulating reality around them in a manner most disrespectful to those of any divinity innate.

They fail to see that others live and love differently and want to manipulate all and sundry into their dull, shaven, vegetarian conformity which vicious governments find easy to control (one other reason why monks are well loved and supported by the state, the apathy and self centered/self continuing nature which only proselytizes to no end is ideal for absolutist governments of any form) . . .

The world and the wealth and bounty (that means all mineral and oil wealth which should not be sequestered by a handful of individuals) of the world, belongs EQUALLY to all mankind who should not overpopulate and ensure spaces to all fellow men via ALL ENCOMPASSING LEGISLATION with sufficient opt out clauses (not dis-enfranchisment, not theocracy, and/or narrow communalism or apartheid) for any and all diverse expressions of self and individuality. Perhaps these ‘fundo’ types can act as a core preserve of native racial natures, a living museum of a nation’s past to fall back on in times of war to learn how to be fundo from, but nothing else.

This is the post millenial generation, live and let live, share the wealth and unused land not sequester via idiotic state land laws or uncontrolled Capitalist paradigms which Marx carried to the lowest denominator form (I propose a 20 million limit instead, rich enough but not sequestering so much that the number is mind boggling), and leave everyone not of one’s favourite group alone. Religion is about PEACE and self seeking NOT disrespectful or sneakiy proselytizing, converting others or use as a weapon of manipulation for political or personal power.

Whats owed must be returned, whats bet and lost must be given up accordingly. That is civilisation. Response with spiritual violence after losing and refusing to pay up is barbarism, think Bamiyan Buddhas and Muslims, what would Buddha do in this case? Kill Muslims? Destroy back their statues? Islam has none. But spiritual violence that kills autonomy is against all principles of civilisation after all, move to civilised lands and places and let other barbarians handle the barbaric because that is the only thing they need to live off – love of strife and love of retaliation . . .

ARTICLE 17

Fiat : How fiat being replaced by PMs could work :

As the mines dig more for issuance of currency or the state acquires gold from jewellery for conversion into coin, the value of Precious Metals will fall, the grammage of the coins will increase.

Once enough has been mined, Precious Metals will fall in value to perhaps an ounce = 100 levels BUT much safer! Meanwhile to prevent abuse of the system, manufacturers and miners will need to be monitored by governments with watchdog citizen bodies, as fiat has been abused no end causing inflation. Unlike fiat paper, Precious Metals cannot be issued at leisure to cronies etc. and be unaccounted for.

To ensure further safety, Cowries or sea shells of sufficiently rare type could be used as well to further prevent uncontrolled replication of currency like fiat printed without accountability as of now. The breeding grounds for seashells or cowries can be considered a natural a form of mint which can be guarded as a mint. Criminals would hence have no way to replicate currency (much like fiat is printed) unless they have access to breeding areas of cowries, access to mines and PMs (already protected), and manufacturing facilities which are the easiest to obtain. Local insignia could adorn local PM currency, which could incorporate sea shells. Conversely, the PMs could be done away with entirely and only seashells used.

All Precious Metals will increase in value for a while due to insufficient amounts but fiat can be exchanged by the gram instead.
Smaller weightage for coinage should be applied. Standards or charts will need to be drawn up as in example below :

Osmium is proposed as the most valuable coin because of density and rarity, nothing else. ‘Purple Gold’ coating is to make for easier distinction. what is so great about PMs as opposed to paper fiat? Governments cannot print whatever they want and cause inflation and wealth gaps, with electronic currency like ‘BitCoin’ being even worse, having no physical form like fiat at least does though fiat is a piece of paper wit lots of zeros, meaning $1 costs the same to ‘print’ as $1000 . . . PM’s however cannot be printed. We all know that the mint is off limits to the 99% and that cronies can get a stack of fiat if they really need to, leading to control by a false plutocracy based on fiat printing.

The following women are not attractive to Donald Trump: Angelina Jolie (“She’s been with so many guys”), Cher (“bad plastic surgery”), Rosie O’Donnell (“big, fat pig”), and now, Arianna Huffington.

On Wednesday, Trump used his Twitter account to call the internet powerhouse “unattractive both inside and out.” He went on to attack her marriage, which ended in an amicable divorce.

“I fully understand why her former husband left her for a man-he made a good decision,” Trump added in less than 140 characters.

It’s not the first time he’s publicly judged a successful female media figure by her looks and intimate life, and it probably won’t be the last.

Trump’s world seems to be divided into three categories. Women he finds attractive. Women he doesn’t find attractive. And Men. It’s not so different from a Miss USA pageant, only “contestants” like Huffington don’t ask to be entered.

Huffington smartly refused to take the bait and refrained from responding, possibly avoiding another drawn out Trump vs. Barbara Walters feud.

In the past, both male and female columnists at major media outlets have labeled Trump “a sexist dinosaur,” with “a legacy of unapologetically gleeful misogyny.” These days nobody’s wasting words trying to prove that point, when Trump seems to do the job all on his own. Here are some of the

gems from the mouth of a modern day caveman:

“All of the women on The Apprentice flirted with me – consciously or unconsciously. That’s to be expected.”
-From his book How to Get Rich.

“So when he had plenty of money, she liked him…But then after that, not as good, right?”
-In response to an Access Hollywood interview question on Anne Hathaway’s split from her jailed ex-boyfriend.

“I’ll send one of my friends to pick up her girlfriend and I think it would be very easy.”
-On Rosie O’Donnell and his own mysteriously beguiling friends, as reported by The New York Daily News.

“She does have a very nice figure . . . if [she] weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her.”
-On his daughter, Ivanka, during a interview on the The View.

“You look very good, Aubrey, I have to say, Do you mind if I say? Is that sexist?”
-On Aubrey O’Day’s boardroom appearance during an episode of The Apprentice.

“The early victories by women on The Apprentice were to a very large extent dependent on their sex appeal.”
-On women’s success on The Apprentice, from How to Get Rich.

“I believe we’re all equal except women still have to try harder and they know it. They will do what they have to do to get the job done and will not necessarily be demure about it.”
-More on women’s success, from How to Get Rich.

“Oftentimes when I was sleeping with one of the top women in the world I would say to myself, thinking about me as a boy from Queens, ‘can you believe what I am getting?'”
-On former romantic partners, from Think Big: Make it Happen in Business and Life.

“Beauty and elegance, whether in a woman, a building, or a work of art is not just superficial or something pretty to see.”
-On inanimate objects and women, from Trump 101: The Way to Success

“You know, it doesn’t really matter what [the media] write as long as you’ve got a young and beautiful piece of [expletive].”
-On media zen and women’s body parts, from a 1991 Esquire interview.

Any ‘unapologetically gleeful misogyny’ is only for and usable by alpha males. Even wealthy betas like Bill Gates do not, or dare not use ‘unapologetically gleeful misogyny’. And due to socialised pressure, the alpha male is an increasingly rare species these days.

Good role model for those able to fathom this guy or where this guy is coming from but physicality wise, doubtful could take on Putin (more Trump is more Alpha Slick than Alpha Hardman, even as some of us are only mindset based Alpha Minor . . . ), though mindset wise probably on same standing. Both of these guys though lack beards (Alpha Major) . . . in any case, the real alpha males should set up the last international Gentlemen’s Club before the whole Alpha-male type/meme disappears . . . Club Alpha or Alpha Club, for “Playboy/Hustler/Penthouse/Miss World loving”, full bearded, hairy (thanks JB or was that DM . . . ), lantern jawed, bald from too much testosterone (not anything else though), Hells Angel type club joining, Car Modding, gladiatorial game playing, bull riding/fighting, male f—ing (females too delicate, would break . . . try this for hyper masculinity lol!), 2nd amendment loving, alcohol swilling, organic drug taking males only.

The rest of the slack jawed f@99ot, PC, metrosexual types are for alpha females unable to find alpha males (betas females are best for beta males if a Matriarchy is not intended . . . ), OR alpha females socially twisted into ‘Lordosis’ ‘male bashing’ or accidental same-sex (socialised m2m or f2f are incidental not genetic, so differentiate to avoid much grief and regret later on) type behaviour. So would alpha females serious enough get that lab to grow a penis and a pair (set of testicles) with. But don’t go around subverting already estrogenized metro-males who are no challenge even as no females could ever be larger than the largest male or more ethical than the most ‘testosteronized’ males . . .

“She’s been with so many guys (of Angelina Jolie)” . . . never really looked at this from that angle. Thanks Trump! It’s informed now! Now how about running for Governor or even President to change some laws for the 99%? Back to the Future 2 (Robert Zemeckis 1989) cannot occur without Trump on the scene! ‘Biff” (Thomas F. Wilson)’s an Alpha!

Todd Akin and the Second Sex – Posted by Judith Thurman – August 27, 2012

Naw, just demogoguery, Todd wouldn’t rape a fly . . . or was that the other way around . . . ugh . . . anyway too many GOPs should be dropped for term limitlessness if not crony capitalism . . .

Simone de Beauvoir’s foundational treatise on gender inequality, “The Second Sex,” was published in France in 1949, a year after the author—a thirty-eight-year-old public intellectual—was allowed to vote for the first time. French women, so belatedly enfranchised, would not have access to legal birth control until 1967, or to legal first-trimester abortions until 1975.

In 1971, Beauvoir took the lead in her countrywomen’s struggle for reproductive rights. She wrote a declaration, “The Manifesto of 343,” that exposed her and her fellow-signers—some of France’s leading female artists, actors, writers, jurists, and filmmakers—to criminal prosecution. (It also exposed them to degrading ridicule of a now-familiar sort. Forty years before Rush Limbaugh aired his repulsive fantasies about Sandra Fluke, the declaration was nicknamed “The Manifesto of the 343 Sluts.”)

“One million women in France have an abortion every year,” Beauvoir’s declaration began. “Condemned to secrecy, they have them in dangerous conditions…. These women are veiled in silence. I declare that I am one of them. I have had an abortion.”

Not all of the women who signed Beauvoir’s manifesto had actually had an abortion. Some of them, like Violette Leduc, the lesbian writer, may never have had sex with a man. The point was to stand together on behalf of the “veiled.” And in 1971, I was one of the veiled. I was a single woman just out of college, far from home, living marginally, without a partner, who found herself pregnant.

It is sometimes hard to remember that abortion has not been a crime in the United States since Roe v. Wade was decided, in 1973. If politicians like Todd Akin and Paul Ryan prevail, it will be a crime again, under all circumstances, along with some forms of contraception that can spare women from a hard choice that they have to live with, one way or another, for the rest of their lives.

Akin disgraced himself as a benighted zealot by blathering about “legitimate rape,” but it’s a mistake, I think, to focus one’s outrage on the trauma of rape and incest victims, on teen-age girls of severely limited mental capacity who are conned by predators, or on patients who have been told by their physicians that a full-term pregnancy may kill them. Forcing such women to bear a child violates their integrity in a barbaric fashion—it rapes them twice.

But most women who seek abortions do not fall into those categories. They are our neighbors, daughters, sisters, granddaughters, and colleagues. They come in every size and color. They are rich and poor. They are Republicans and Democrats. They are churchgoers and atheists. They are married, single, and divorced. Some ardently want a family—when the time is right. Some of them have children already. But they have this in common: at some point between the onset of puberty and the end of menopause—and one neither wants nor needs to know the circumstances, it is none of our business—they had a sexual encounter that resulted in an accidental conception, and they couldn’t go through with it.

Here is where the Akin uproar leads us to perilous ground. “Legitimate rape” (or “forcible rape,” as the Congressman put it in his apology for having “misspoke”) is a coded expression that everyone in its target audience understands. It conjures the image of a Victorian maiden ravished by a villain in a cloak and a top hat, twirling his mustache as she flails on the railroad tracks (hey writer you forgot the Mr.Peanut brand type Monocle . . . ) . It implies that there are “legitimate” victims—and only certifiably “pure” women fall into that category. Everyone else had it coming.

“The Second Sex” is an exhaustive study of the ways that misogyny has, from time immemorial, been disguised as righteousness. Todd Akin and Paul Ryan want to write a new chapter to the story. If you are saved, you need not fear their policies. If you are fallen, you will pay the price. They would lower the veil of shame and silence on a new generation. But if we let this become a debate about female virtue, rather than about female self-determination, we have lost it.

One generation ahead of ya Todd . . .

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Todd does not speak the language of ‘occultism’ and nor do those attacking Todd. The *body* and the *spirit* are different ‘people’. A rapist rapes ONLY when the spirit in the woman allows or calls to the spirit in the man (this is how Burkha clad women who cannot even be seen are even raped to begin with), OR the spirit of the rapist is not in control. Todd Akin is not to be blamed for the clumsy language use, ‘Legitimate’ means Spirit to Spirit, nothing else . . . this is not a commonly broached subject in society where spirit and brain are seperate leading to all kinds of abuses in the name of ‘mental health’ to enable the culling from society people aware of the differences between spirit and brain (the feminazis, demogogues and psychiatric establishment, also henpecked male politicians, collude on this one to take out as many right minded people as possible . . . this comes from experience . . . ). But needs to take up some language and ‘spirit of language’ courses. The viciousness directed against Todd though is inequitable. Todd dropping semi-wonky language from lack of training means nothing about character and ONLY the same could be done back to Todd. Not threats of AIDS infected rape or drowning.

Todd Akin most probably does not have interest in raping anyone (even if Todd does, he’d have too much to lose by doing so, makes no sense), we also do know that to even become a Congressman, the discipline needs to be there, especially for 2 terms limited types not drunk with power for decades. As for mysogyny factor, so long as there is no intent to hurt anyone, and if all persons subject to mysogyny are consensual, no issue. Please don’t threaten Congressmen with AIDS rapes or drownings- might be actionable. Todd Akin may have described the above clumsily and look like Kurtwood Smith who played Clarence J. Boddicker in Robocop 1 (1987 Paul Verhoeven), but that does not mean Todd should be subject to this sort of abuse.

Perhaps those threatening Todd need to get their heads checked instead . . . I do however suggest that since Todd has been in ‘power’ for more than 2 terms, that Todd relinquish that seat anyway for someone that Todd could endorse that is similarly minded. Oligarchic term limitlessness destroys democracy, and Todd looks like part of the problem of technicalities in ethics for bettering democracy rather than the solution or being an exemplar. Careerist politicians are a sad relic of the past. Todd voted well on several bills but has not forwarded any useful bills or at even bills to redistribute land to the poor or come up with anything useful for all those stints in taxpayer paid for posts.

Todd voted for carrying concealed weapons GOOD (2nd Amendment is always good, the bigger the weapon the better . . . )
Todd voted against the parks and soils sales tax GOOD (The Iraq war is not over, the last thing USA needs is Crony Capitalism gardening companies bleeding tax payers)
Todd voted against the 1993 tax increase and education spending increase GOOD (Prevented Crony Capitalism)
Todd sponsored legislation to prohibit casino companies from contributing to Missouri state lawmakers. GOOD (Ethical)

Todd is anti-abortion rights, BAD (Authoritarian, the state does not control women’s bodies . . . but spiritual issue of partially formed life is very serious – perhaps could be dealt with via formulation between various faiths the best way to safely ensure partly formed ‘Foetids’ are able to ‘re-enter’ the circle of life properly)

How about redistribution of un-used state land to the homeless or poor due for foreclosures? A semi-thoughtful man who did not delve deep enough into the above before speaking . . .

ARTICLE 3

Man on trial for paedophilia to use ‘my brain made me do it’ defence – August 29, 2012

Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik was sane when he killed 77 people last year. — Reuters pic
LONDON, Aug 29 — He was once a respected paediatrician, loved by patients and their parents for over 30 years. Now Domenico Mattiello faces trial for paedophilia, accused of making sexual advances towards little girls in his care.

Scientific experts will argue in court that his damaged brain made him do it, and his lawyers will ask for leniency.

It’s the latest example of how neuroscience — the science of the brain and how it works — is taking the stand and beginning to challenge society’s notions of crime and punishment.

The issue has been thrown into the spotlight by new technologies, like structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET) scans and DNA analysis that can help pinpoint the biological basis of mental disorders.

A series of recent studies has established that psychopathic rapists and murderers have distinct brain structures that show up when their heads are scanned using MRI.

And in the United States, two companies, one called No Lie MRI and another called Cephos Corp, are advertising lie-detection services using fMRI to lawyers and prosecutors.

Crime and punishment

While structural MRI scans show the structure of a brain and can highlight differences between one brain and another, PET and fMRI scans can also show the brain in action, lighting up at particular points when the brain engages in certain tasks.

But the dazzling new technologies and detailed genetic data leave unanswered the issue of whether criminal courts are the right place to use this new information.

“The worry is that the law, or at least some judges, might be so overawed by the technology that they start essentially delegating the decision about guilt to a particular form of test,” says Colin Blakemore, a professor of neuroscience at Oxford University.

The lawyers for American serial killer Brian Dugan, who was facing execution in Illinois after pleading guilty to raping and killing a 10-year-old girl, used scans of his brain activity to argue he had mental malfunctions and should be spared the death penalty. In the event, Illinois abolished capital

punishment while he was on death row.

In a court in the Indian city of Mumbai, a woman was convicted of murder based only on circumstantial evidence and a so-called brain electrical oscillations signature profiling (BEOS) test, the results of which prosecutors said suggested she was guilty.

The days when mental capacity for crime is argued over by psychiatrists unaided by sophisticated machinery — such as Friday’s verdict that Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik was sane when he killed 77 people — look numbered.

“All sorts of types of neuroscience evidence are being used for all sorts of types of claims,” says Teneille Brown, a professor of law at the University of Utah. “The question is, is this technology really ready for prime time, or is it being abused?”

“Acquired paedophilia”

In Mattiello’s case, the neuroscientific evidence will come in the form of a full psychiatric and biological analysis including an MRI brain scan that shows a roughly 4-centimetre tumour growing at the base of his brain.

This created pressure inside his skull and “altered his behaviour”, says Pietro Pietrini, a molecular geneticist and psychiatrist at Italy’s University of Pisa who is compiling an expert report on the 65-year-old.

“His previous behaviour was completely normal,” Pietrini told Reuters. “He was a paediatrician for 30 something years and he saw tens of thousands of children and never had any problem. The question is why, at some point, did someone who has always behaved properly suddenly change so drastically?”

The doctor was arrested in Vicenza, northern Italy, more than a year ago and is undergoing cancer treatment after having the tumour removed. Pietrini is due to see him again next month to continue his assessment and see the effects of the treatment.

The case, which has yet go to court, is strikingly similar to another of “acquired paedophilia” dating back to 2002, in which a 40-year-old married American schoolteacher suddenly became obsessed with sex and began secretly to collect child pornography.

He was eventually removed from the family home for making sexual advances towards his stepdaughter and convicted of paedophilia. But later medical examinations found he had an egg-sized tumour in a part of the brain involved in decision-making.

When the tumour was removed, the man recovered from his paedophilic tendencies and was able to return to his family.

Experts are generally agreed that conditions like psychopathy and paedophilia can’t be “cured”, but in this groundbreaking case it appeared that removing the tumour, and hence the pressure in the brain, may have re-established his ability to control impulses.

As in that case, Pietrini said he and colleague Giuseppe Sartori of Padua University believed Mattiello’s tumour “may well have played a role in altering his behaviour”.

“This is what we will be arguing,” Pietrini said. “But of course it will be for the judge to determine to what extent he believes this medical condition played a role.”

Oxford’s Blakemore, one of the world’s leading thinkers in this field, says such cases are “startling”.

“It makes one wonder about the notion of responsibility,” he said in an interview.

Is “my brain made me do it” a defence?

And when it comes to prison, should paedophiles, psychopaths and other violent criminals be punished less severely if their behaviour can be blamed on biology? Is “my brain made me do it” a defence that warrants recognition with lighter sentences, or even no jail time at all?

“(It) raises the whole issue of what you think sentencing is for,” says Blakemore. “Is it about punishment? Is it about retribution? Is it about remediation and rehabilitation? Is it about protecting society? Well, to some extent it’s about all of those things.”

Recent evidence — from both real and hypothetical cases — suggests judges are sympathetic to neurobiological evidence as mitigation.

A study published in the journal Science this month showed that criminal psychopaths in the United States whose lawyers provide biological evidence for their brain condition are more likely to be sentenced to shorter jail terms than those who are simply said to be psychopaths.

For the study, researchers at the University of Utah tweaked the real-life case of Stephen Mobley, a 39-year-old American who was sentenced to death in 1994 after robbing a Domino’s pizza place in Georgia and shooting dead the restaurant’s manager.

At his trial, Mobley’s lawyer presented evidence in mitigation showing the accused had a variant of a gene called MAO-A that has been dubbed the “warrior” gene after scientists found it was linked to violent behaviour.

Aggressive genes

In the Science study, judges were given a hypothetical case loosely based on Mobley’s, where the crime was a savage beating with a gun, rather than a fatal shooting.

All the judges were told the defendant was a psychopath, but only half were given expert testimony on the genetic and neurobiological causes of his psychopathy. Those who got the neuroscientific evidence were more likely to give a shorter sentence – generally about a year less, the study found.

Pietrini worked on a similar real-life case in Italy in 2009 — thought to be one of the first criminal cases in Europe to use this type of neuroscientific evidence.

It involved Abdelmalek Bayout, an Algerian living in Italy, who was tried and convicted for fatally stabbing a man who teased him in the street.

After conducting a series of tests on the Algerian, Pietrini and colleagues said they had found abnormalities in imaging scans of his brain, and in five genes that have been linked to violent behaviour — including MAO-A.

A 2002 study led by researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London linked low levels of MAO-A with aggressiveness and criminal behaviour in boys who were raised in abusive environments.

Bayout’s lawyers got his sentence reduced by arguing that this and other bad genes had affected his brain and were partly to blame for the attack.

Where will it end?

Experts say it’s almost inevitable that neuroscience and law will become yet more intertwined. After all, while neuroscience seeks to find out how the brain functions and affects behaviour, the law’s main concern is with regulating behaviour.

Yet many are uneasy about the use in courts of law — and in matters of life and death — of basic science that is only just creeping out of the lab.

Observers such as Hank Greely, a professor of law at Stanford University, point out that no scientific peer-reviewed studies have been published demonstrating that BEOS — the brain test used in the Mumbai case — actually works.

Others stress that while genes like MAO-A have been associated with violence, there are also plenty of people with similar genotypes who don’t go out and kill, rape or abuse.

“Neuroscience is being used by serious scientists in real labs, but the people trying to apply it in courts are not those same people,” says Utah’s Brown. “So they’re taking something that looks very objective, that looks like gold standard science, but then morphing it into a forensic use it wasn’t developed for.

Seena Fazel, a clinical senior lecturer in forensic psychiatry at Oxford University, says he’s uncomfortable with the long-term implications and wonders where it will end.

There are already known biological bases for many brain disorders criminals suffer from, including drug addiction, alcoholism and antisocial personality disorder, which is thought to affect up to half of all those in prison.

“If psychopathy reduces your sentence because it has a biological basis, why shouldn’t these other more common conditions also result in reduced sentences? The problem here is where do we draw the line?” — Reuters

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

One’s spirit can only do so much healing before, calling quits. The physical brain may not have been aware and continuing such work created the tumour from the spirit’s dissatisfaction. In response, the paediatrician began TAKING back for the spirit by predating the children instead. One can only want to do so much healing. The capacity of the spirit may be boundless to the point of earthquakes and tornadoes, but a spirit who healed perhaps the 1000th or even 100th child decided to retire, and the physical man with the physical brain continued at the spirit’s expense which led to a tumor that specifically caused paedophelia or other harmful behaviour. Perhaps many bankers and politicians, even priests of large orders need to retire once a number of years have passed or a number of years of work have been offered, monetary renumeration is not what the spirit wants, the brain does not understand, but the spirit will make it’s will known in any number of ways like ailments.

ARTICLE 4

We’re more comfortable with sex on TV…but should we plug the filth flood before it’s too late? – by Andy Dawson – Wednesday, 29 August 2012 at 2:26 pm

We’re more comfortable with sex on TV…but should we plug the filth flood before it’s too late?As a 1980s teenager, finally deemed old enough to be allowed to stay up late and watch TV with my parents, it was the moment I feared the most – THE SEX BIT. On the screen that is, not in the living room. For both myself and my parents, short-term mortification was guaranteed every single time.

Of course, as this was almost thirty years ago, so when I say THE SEX BIT I’m referring to nothing more sizzlicious than the sight of a woman in her underwear, an extended bout of what Britain’s swimming pool law-enforcers call ‘heavy petting’, or if I was lucky/unlucky enough, actual female toplessness.

See even today, I’m still struggling to grasp for the correct terminology while maintaining my composure. But I have to confess that it isn’t working – my hands are becoming clammy and my brow fevered as I poke the words ‘female toplessness’ out on my sweat-drenched keyboard.

Back then, during one of those infrequent but time-stopping sexy TV flashpoints, if someone were to run in to the living room and conduct a straw poll as to whether there was too much sex on TV, the outcome would be a resounding 100% affirmative vote.

Mind you, if someone were to run in to the living room and steal our eyeballs from right out of the front of our heads, there would be very little dissent. We were all too busy trying to pretend that what we were witnessing wasn’t happening, while straining to stem the crimson tide of embarrassment that was flooding our faces.

But it’s 2012 now and attitudes are changing – Britain is loose and groovy now. A recent Ofcom poll found that just 25% of adults are unhappy with the amount of sex on the small-screen, a figure that is down from 36% in 2005. Perhaps some of them are unhappy because they’re not seeing enough sex, who knows. The fact that only 19% were offended by something they’d seen over the past 12 months suggests that might well be the case.

So what’s happening to us all? Are we in the midst of a new 21st century permissive society? Is the sight of televised rutting now as normal to us as that of Jeremy Kyle haranguing an absent, glue-addled dad?

If many of us are indeed more comfortable with the sight of what the French commonly call ‘the flesh fandango’, perhaps broadcasters will bend to our will and tailor more of their post-watershed programmes to our increased thirst for boot-knocking.

For years now, knuckle-dragging observers have yearned for the first televised full-blown sexual encounter in the Big Brother house. Perhaps it already happened – I genuinely couldn’t care less. But surely it’s time for the BBC to steal the march and give us the first ever full-blown sex scene in Eastenders, preferably in the Queen Vic, during a lock in. As for what form it takes, I don’t care as long as Jean Slater is involved (I have niche tastes, shush, mind your own business).

Surely it’s time for David Attenborough to stop traversing the globe and obsessing over the mating habits of boring old animals and secrete himself away in a wardrobe in a Surrey semi instead, fastidiously commentating on the passionate wranglings of a middle-aged middle manager and his partner of choice. As for the potential that is inherent in a new-look, post-sexy-revolution Strictly Come Dancing – well, the mind boggles. Oh, my hands are getting clammy again.

But telly sex isn’t for everyone and there would need to be a two-tier system with a quick and easy opt out available. Fair warning should be given ahead of any graphic sex scene and a simple push of the red button would switch to an alternative broadcast, with all of the rude bits covered by an animation of Cardinal Keith O’Brien monotonously braying the words ‘this is not actually happening’.

Is it what we really want though? Before long we’ll be living in a new era of wall-to-wall filth and we won’t even know how it happened. We’re almost certainly just a few years away from a time where the major source of living room awkwardness is when dad realises that the TV remote is wedged firmly beneath the writhing bodies of his 19-year-old daughter and her boyfriend.

Be careful what you wish for.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Dawson is looking at this in a wrong manner. There could be ‘stiff’ channels for the upper classes, ‘semi-stiff’ for the middle classes, and ‘groovy’ channels for the lower classes. The viewership records merely show where society is headed. In a poorer lower class majority society, people will be ‘playing’ at home or at the cheaper part of the RLD mainly to relax, in a middle majority society people will be playing outside in non-RLD venues to sorta exercise, in a wealthy society people will be playing at the upper class venues to challenge themselves. No need to worry, rather look at the macro economic issues. I think Dawson isn’t really familiar with all groups? All facets of society should not be put under a microscope like this. Hands clammy? Well sound like Dawson is under stress and depending on Dawson’s wealth level, time to head to the RLD or the middle level venues if not too stressed . . .

We’re more comfortable with sex on TV…but should we plug the filth flood before it’s too late? – There is no filth flood, Dawson has been looking at the wrong channel too long IMHO.

Several women were sexually assaulted on Thursday during festivities to mark a local water festival in the island province of Hainan, according to eyewitnesses.

Around 8:30 am, several men tried to touch some women’s breasts, tearing their clothes during celebrations in Qixian Square, Baoting Li and Miao autonomous county, a website run by Xinhua News Agency reported.

Li Min, a tourist from Wanning in Hainan who has participated in the festival for the past five years, told China Daily that four or five women were assaulted after an opening ceremony, and the attackers were taken away by police.

“There were more than 1,000 people on the square playing with water at that time, and most of them were very young,” he said, adding that he was standing on the second floor of a building overlooking the square.

“I saw a man take off a young woman’s clothes, while similar situations also happened to four or five other women who were playing with water in different areas of the square at the same time.

“Later, police came to restore order, taking the men out of the square,” Li said, adding that he couldn’t tell how many men were taken into custody.

Huang Dingyi, from Haikou, capital of Hainan, who also witnessed the incident, said he saw a woman being molested by a man wearing a hat and a red scarf.

“The woman slipped when she was attacked by the man and she hit the attacker with a water pot,” he said. “The police rushed to stop the disorder from a house on the square and seized the man, who was in his 20s.”

On Thursday afternoon, media and netizens published photos of the festival celebrations on micro blogs.

A publicity officer for the county, who did not want to be identified, confirmed the incidents but said only one teenage girl had been sexually assaulted.

Some witnesses might have been mistaken about what they saw, according to the officer.

“It might be the carelessness of the girl wearing a vest playing with the water,” he said, adding the real situation was not as serious as netizens described.

In addition, Wang Xiumei, head of the county’s publicity department, said the public security bureau has been investigating the case and trying to determine how many women were attacked.

“We are paying attention to the case and will disclose the number and newest information as soon as possible,” she added.

On the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, China’s traditional day for lovers, Li and Miao ethnic groups offer water sacrifices, which has led to locals organizing a festival to attract tourists and residents to play with water.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

No need to get police involved, rather have official ‘car wash’ type girls specifically to draw attention for these cheap thrill types. Do put notices stating clearly that no stripping of regular citizens is allowed and that only the ‘Water Show Girls’ are to be stripped and that charges can be pressed if regular citizens are stripped or manhandled or attacked.

Iran’s Supreme Leader has ordered the country’s Revolutionary Guards to intensify its campaign of terror attacks against the West and its allies in retaliation for supporting the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

According to Western intelligence officials, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gave the order to the elite Quds Force unit following a recent emergency meeting of Iran’s National Security Council in Tehran held to discuss a specially-commissioned report into the implications for Iran of the Assad regime’s overthrow.

Damascus is Iran’s most important regional ally, and the survival of the Assad regime is regarded as vital to sustaining the Iranian-backed Hizbollah militia which controls southern Lebanon.

The report, which was personally commissioned by Mr Khamenei, concluded that Iran’s national interests were being threatened by a combination of the U.N. sanctions imposed over Iran’s nuclear programme and the West’s continuing support for Syrian opposition groups attempting to overthrow the Syrian government.

Intelligence officials say the report concludes that Iran “cannot be passive” to the new threats posed to its national security, and warns that Western support for Syrian opposition groups was placing Iran’s “resistance alliance” in jeopardy, and could seriously disrupt Iran’s access to Hizbollah in Lebanon.

It advised that the Iranian regime should demonstrate to the West that there were “red lines” over what it would accept in Syria, and that a warning should be sent to “America, the Zionists, Britain, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and others that they cannot act with impunity in Syria and elsewhere in the region.”

Mr Khamenei responded by issuing a directive to Qassem Suleimani, the Quds Force commander, to intensify attacks against the West and its allies around the world.

The Quds Force has recently been implicated in a series of terror attacks against Western targets. Last year U.S. officials implicated the organisation in a failed assassination attempt against the Saudi Arabian ambassador to Washington. It was also implicated in three bomb attacks against Israeli diplomats in February, planning to attack the Eurovision song contest in Azerbaijan while two Iranians were arrested in Kenya last month for possessing explosives.

Intelligence officials believe the recent spate of Iranian attacks has been carried out by the Quds Force’s Unit 400, which runs special overseas operations.

“Unit 400 seems to have been involved in all the recent Iranian terrorist operations,” said a senior Western intelligence official. “The Iranian regime now seems determined to retaliate for what they regard as the West’s attempts to influence the outcome of the Syrian unrest.”

Iran has been actively supporting the Assad regime’s attempts to suppress the wave of anti-government protests that erupted in March last year. Iranian opposition groups claim teams of experienced Revolutionary Guard officers have been flying to Damascus on specially-chartered Iranian aircraft on a weekly basis to advise the Assad regime.

The extent of Iran’s support for the Assad regime was exposed earlier this month when 48 Iranians were captured and taken hostage by Syrian opposition fighters. The Iranians, who are said to include senior Revolutionary Guard officers, claimed they were conducting “reconnaissance missions”,

and their capture by Syrian opposition fighters was deeply embarrassing for Tehran, which is demanding their immediate safe return to Iran. Syrian rebels have threatened to kill the hostages unless Iran ends its support for the Assad regime.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Do not target civilians as only cowards will do that. Jailbreaks though would be nice and almost supported by locals . . .

(Reuters) – Britain has withdrawn a threat to enter Ecuador’s embassy in London to arrest WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange who has taken refuge there, President Rafael Correa said on Saturday, taking the heat out of the diplomatic standoff.

“We consider this unfortunate incident over, after a grave diplomatic error by the British in which they said they would enter our embassy,” Correa said in a weekly media address.

In a statement, Ecuador’s government said it had received “a communication from the British Foreign Office which said that there was no threat to enter the embassy.”

Ecuador was furious after the British government warned it might try to seize Assange, who has been holed up in the building for more than two months trying to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over rape and sexual assault allegations.

Ecuador, which has granted the former computer hacker asylum, demanded that Britain’s threat be retracted. The latest move should improve relations between Quito and London and allow more talks on Assange’s fate to take place.

For now, however, Assange remains trapped in the embassy with British police waiting outside. Britain has said it is determined to fulfill a legal obligation to send him to Sweden.

The Washington-based Organization of American States had condemned Britain’s threat, and South American foreign ministers strongly backed Correa’s position that Britain’s warning was unacceptable and could set a dangerous precedent.

Correa says he shares Assange’s fears that if handed over to Sweden, he could then be extradited to the United States to face charges over WikiLeaks’ 2010 publication of secret U.S. cables.

U.S. and European government sources say the United States has issued no criminal charges against the WikiLeaks founder and has launched no attempt to extradite him.

Ecuador’s government says it never intended to prevent Assange from facing justice in Sweden. It has said that if he received written guarantees from Britain and Sweden that he would not be extradited to any third country then Assange would hand himself over to the Swedish authorities.

Assange, whose platinum hair and friendships with the rich and famous have helped make him a global celebrity, spoke from the embassy’s balcony last weekend, denouncing what he called a “witch hunt” by the United States against him and WikiLeaks.

(Editing by Brian Ellsworth and Mohammad Zargham)

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

How important is Assange? If Assange is VERY important in a manner that could finish off the England or what not, then the MI6 could have a group of unknown baklava wearing ‘Right Wingers’ (invent an IRA type outfit loyal to England i.e. ‘Swedish Meatball Brigade’ – of course these are tight lipped Commandos or such that never set foot among civvies), barge into the embassy in a peaceful holdup would be nice, abit of bruising or slapping for drama and PC believability, but depending on how unpleasant Ecuador has been with England . . . fully expect the same to occur in English Embassy in Ecuador though if ever the situation was reversed – in tit for tat) and drag Assange out, to deliver Assange to the nearest police station then use the ‘deniability’ issue.

This will however have everyone on their toes ‘Cold War’ style. If Assange is not important enough, then forget about Assange and stop media covering the obvious narcissist and even let the guy out on the streets. If Assange goes to Equador on his own, ‘Swedish Meatball Brigade’ can suddenly have a Right Wing Branch in Ecuador (made of incidental expats or tourists) as well who can still haul Assange to the Swedish Embassy in Ecuador for ‘rape’ charges (in what could be the most farcical trial ever in the history of humanity . . . ).

Four Orthodox Christian crosses have been chopped down in different parts of Russia. The incidents come after the Femen movement attacked a cross in Kiev to protest the sentence of the punk band Pussy Riot, who received two years in prison.

Three crosses have been taken down in the Urals’ Chelyabinsk Region, and one in the Archangelsk Region, northern Russia.

By the time police arrived at the scenes the vandals had already left. Authorities have launched an investigation into both cases.

The Arkhangelsk cross was erected in the memory of the victims of political repressions, said a local priest, Hegumen Feodosy.

He also said that in recent years the monastery, situated across the street from the cross, has seen two arson attacks and a number of other acts of vandalism.

“This comes in the context of all these incidents in recent months across the country, all this anti-church hysteria waged against our diocese, against the church authority, against everything sacred,” Hegumen Feodosy said.

Russian Human Rights Ombudsman has also strongly condemned the acts of vandalism.

“Just like all normal people, I’m outraged by the ludicrous acts of these individuals. I would hope to see these low-lifes voluntarily come in and explain the motives behind their outrageous actions,” Vladimir Lukin has told Interfax news agency. “Deliberate destruction of Christian or any other religious shrines is a bacchanalia of hatred and brutality.”

The two incidents follow a similar case when the leader of the Ukrainian activist group Femen took down a cross in Kiev using a chainsaw. The act, which was filmed and photographed, later received wide circulation on the Web.

In a statement Femen declared that the cross was taken down in solidarity with the members of punk band Pussy Riot, who were sentenced to two years in jail for hooliganism motivated by religious hatred.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Much like loudspeakers and Muslim prayers 5 times daily can offend, there is a neutral spaces issue that can anger. Are the crosses placed in a way that disenfranchise other faiths?

ARTICLE 9

Student Debt as a Moral Issue – Posted on August 26, 2012 – By Noam Shpancer

A few months ago I took several of my students to a conference in Chicago. Many of my students come from small towns in Ohio. Many have never been to a big city. Many have never left Ohio, never been on a plane before. It was thus particularly rewarding to chaperone them and witness their excitement and joy as they experienced the Second City.

One evening, strolling down Michigan Ave, the conversation turned to money. I casually asked my students about their loan burden. One of them, a perky senior psychology major planning to get her Masters and become a social worker, said she had $80,000 in student loan debt. I was shocked.

Now, I am not entirely naïve about the problem of student loan debt. Until this year, I had one myself. A university degree is still—and perhaps more than before—the passport to the American middle class life.

Demand for education is high, classroom seats in good schools are in limited supply, and so prices tend to go up. Tuition rate hikes routinely outpace inflation. Thus, students are pushed into larger debts. According to the NY Times, the average student loan debt in the US topped $23,000 last year. Much has been written recently about the attendant economic and social hazards. A debt of $23,000 is a troubling burden, for students and parents.

But a debt of $80,000 is something else entirely.

You can perhaps make a case that debt of this magnitude is justified in some unique cases—such as in the process of obtaining a highly valuable degree from a top notch institution. Some professions pay very well. And Ivy League degrees practically guarantee higher starting salaries. But in this particular context—in my reality and that of my students—such a debt is simply not justifiable.

The difference between 23k and 80k debt is a bit like the difference between drinking and driving drunk. If I see a student of mine drinking beer, I may feel uneasy, or worried. I may even say something about responsibility. But if I see a drunken student get behind the wheel, I’m obligated to intervene. An $80,000 debt, for my students, is akin to getting behind the wheel while plastered. it is a recipe for disaster.

Like most private liberal arts institutions, my university prides itself on nurturing students. Many formal systems and procedures are in place to identify and address potential problems and pitfalls students may encounter as they pursue their degrees. We track student attendance, we track their grades, we advise them on which courses to take so as to stay on track toward graduation; we make sure they take the right load—that they don’t over-burden themselves.

There is a medical clinic on campus, as well as career counselors at the ready and free psychotherapy sessions. There are writing labs and tutors and study groups and remedial classes for those who are academically behind, or unprepared. There are assorted advocacy and support group and myriad religious activities.

There are social clubs and Greek organizations and many opportunities set up to help students find company, identity, a sense of belonging; we’re trying to take care of them while they learn the tools that will facilitate their ascent in the world.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Education is a trick by ‘elites’ to get middle class people indebted (also job fair hype), so that the middle class can be turned into the poor. Most large businesses or multi-corps are already owned by elites, so all middles who do not think like, or think for the benefit of elites, or who are too independent and rebellious, or likely to take civilisation beyond the plutocrat-masses-capitalist paradigm of the 20th/21st century, will be prevented from getting jobs, negatively socialised, demogogued against, and turned into ‘the poor’. The poor will be too poor to run for election or have enough energy to think critically, and the threat to the elites from the middles end in this way. Democracy ends when people fail to recognize that plutocrats or term limitless politicians or nepotists try to control the political arena. So will the 99% please vote only for the non-plutocrat or non-nepotists or non-GLC contractors or plutocrats, and eventually vote Joe Publics into power to ensure unused land distribution as discussed throughout this blog, as well as wealth distribution with Socialist limits eventually.

Rise in fees is excluding children of average-earners
Dr Martin Stephen say private schools are putting themselves in danger

Private schools have put themselves in danger warns Dr Martin Stephen

Thousands of middle-income families have been priced out of private schools by inflation-busting fee rises.

Average fees have risen at nearly twice the rate of inflation over the past ten years.

The increases mean that private schooling is now beyond average earners in well-paid occupations, including pharmacists, architects, IT experts, engineers and scientists.

A decade ago, these professionals would have been able to afford to pay fees out of earned income.

Now, however, they would struggle without funding from other sources, according to the study.

The average annual fee for a day pupil at a private school is £11,457, up from £6,820 in 2002, researchers found. Charges have risen 68 per cent in that period, 1.8 times faster than retail price inflation over the same period, which was up 37 per cent.

Private school fees are considered affordable if they account for 25 per cent or less of the average annual full-time salary before tax.

But £11,457 represents 35 per cent of this average, which stands at £33,011, according to the study by Lloyds TSB Private Banking. In 2002, fees would have taken 27 per cent.

Tuition fee rise HAS turned thousands of middle class students off going to university
It’s catastrophic for students, abused by profiteering exam, boards and blindly discriminates against boys. We bust me bold… and put the GCSE out of its misery
Exam regulator to look into GCSE gradings after headteachers threaten legal action

Suren Thiru, economist at the bank, said the rises make it ‘increasingly difficult for the average worker in many occupations to afford a private education for their offspring’.

Those who can most easily afford the fees include accountants, senior police officers, airline pilots and production managers as fees represent 19 per cent of their annual earnings.

Excluded: The rise in fees for private education means that average earners can no longer afford independent schooling for their children

The findings follow a warning this year from the former head of a top private school that the sector is losing public confidence by becoming the preserve of the super-rich.

Dr Martin Stephen, formerly of St Paul’s School, West London wrote: ‘Independent schools have put themselves in a very dangerous position; even more dangerous because they don’t realise the danger.

‘They are pricing themselves out of the reach of most normal people in the UK. The independent sector is becoming socially exclusive in a way not seen since Victorian times.’

Dr Stephen is now director of education at GEMS, an international schools group aiming to make private education ‘affordable’.

He added: ‘The sector has become too dependent on overseas parents and is profiting from a state sector in some turmoil as a result of radical change. Independents need to realign themselves with their clients.’

The biggest rises in fees have been in London and the South West, both up 79 per cent from 2002-12. Next were East Anglia (74 per cent) and the East Midlands and South East, both at just under 70 per cent.

The number of pupils enrolled at private schools has also fallen over the decade, according to the study.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Fee price as well as goods price increases need to be monitored by government and prevented from being more than inflation rate. To ensure exclusivity, use the CLASS paradigm or requirement (i.e. the job the parent was working at determines if a private school wants to take them in), also CRIMINAL RECORD or at extreme levels ETHICAL requirements, instead of the wealth only paradigm. Not all wealthy are classy folks (even the titled have been stealing tax funds from so many cases in England), and not all poor are unsuitable or lack the high mindedness for exclusive education. For lack of a better method of retaining exclusivity, the private college has lost all ethics to become money spinners and mere businesses rather than educational or social bastions. Education now, is a farce.

Public school fees could be on a flat 10% of earnings basis regardless of whatever the parent is earning. Private school fees could be on a flat 20% of earnings basis regardless of whatever the parent is earning.

This way all social classes are able to participate after criminal record or background checks so long as they sacrifice 20% of the monthly salaries. This would make entrances on quality possible for everyone, not equate wealth with quality and create a low quality plutocracy and a worship of wealth as the basis of a society and nation and unending increases in education fees which should be free, being a basic necessity.

Police said the death of Tao Wei, China Central Television’s famous soccer commentator, was not suspicious, people.com reports.

The body of the 34-year-old was discovered in a room at the Nishihaitai Hotel in Jinan, Shandong province at 9 am on Monday after he failed to meet friends for breakfast that morning.

He was staying at the hotel for one night with three friends before continuing their journey to Qingdao.

Local police say Tao’s body showed no signs of injury. There was no sign of any disturbance in the room, and the hotel room window and door was in good condition.

Tao’s coworkers at CCTV say he was a hardworking and modest person who has a good reputation among colleagues and maintained a healthy lifestyle, according to Beijing News.

Tao was a soccer player for more than a decade before becoming a soccer commentator for CCTV. He also owned a soccer club in Beijing.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

. . . also owned a soccer club in Beijing . . . – This is the main cause for certain. ALL soccer clubs have links to gambling and the underworld. Not so surprising. Actaully all sports related people and industry players are nominally affected by gambling as well. Sports is driven to a great degree by gambling and hence the underworld, especially for those out of University level age or even career sportsmen. Look at the milder eating/fatness oriented Sumo for example which was riddled with underworld allegations. Football is far deeper enmired. The best is to legalize gambling at football stadiums much like gambling at horse races. No point keeping up pretenses. Bad debts can occur and Taowei being an owner doubtless was involved.

Who knows Taowei was conducting a sting for CCTV, if not involved in a criminal manner that might lead to certain individuals being targeted for questioning and would ‘squeal’. Had to be killed then. But worse still, the police could well have had their own informers and killed Taowei in a counter-sting operation – i.e. ‘death not suspicious’. Just legalize football gambling to prevent this sort of case from occurring. People love to gamble though limits on losses should be clearly marked like 30% of salary level at most (or 30% of lifetime asset at most) before being barred from gambling. Even the underworld would prefer to be legal so why make all these pretenses? Much like prohibition in the USA for alcohol, this is gambling prohibition in China.

ARTICLE 12

Kim Kardashian settles lawsuit with Old Navy after label used a lookalike in ad – by Daily Mail Reporter UPDATED: 19:59 GMT, 29 August 2012

Kim Kardashian has settled a lawsuit against Old Navy claiming the clothing retailer violated her publicity rights by using a lookalike in an ad.

The reality TV star, 31, sued over the spot in July 2011, claiming the company’s use of a model who looked like her might confuse consumers about her actual endorsements, which include a clothing store and shoe line.

No details about the settlement were filed with the court.

Spot the difference: Kim Kardashian, left, settled a lawsuit against Old Navy claiming the clothing retailer violated her publicity rights by using lookalike Melissa Molinaro in an ad who is rumoured to be dating Reggie Bush.

‘The lawsuit was resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties,’ said the reality TV starlet’s lawyer Gary Hecker, who declined to elaborate.

A spokesperson for Old Navy parent company The Gap Inc. was not immediately available.

The lawsuit was over the commercial titled ‘Super C-U-T-E.’

The ad began airing in February 2011 and was still being used in some of the company’s promotions months later, Kardashian’s lawsuit stated.

It featured Canadian singer-model Melissa Molinaro, who an attorney for Old Navy said at a January hearing was famous in her own right.

Doppelgänger: In the advertisement, Molinaro hair and make-up is styled almost identically to Kim’s

Molinaro was said to be dating Kardashian’s ex boyfriend Reggie Bush at the time.

But the retailer maintained her appearance in the ad wasn’t intended to draw similarities to Kardashian.

Hecker contended that some news outlets and Twitter users noted similarities in the women’s appearances.

Kardashian was seeking unspecified damages – believed to be in the region of $15 – $20 million and an order barring Old Navy from using a lookalike model again.

Seem familiar? Molinaro even tries her hand at a signature Kim ‘look over the shoulder’ pose

Plenty in common: Model and actress Molinaro was also linked to Kim’s ex Reggie Bush

Last year Molinaro said she was thrilled to be compared to Kardashian, describing it as an ‘amazing compliment.’

She had previously been a competitor on the Pussycat Dolls Presents: The Search For The Next Doll and also P. Diddy’s hit show Making The Band, where she just missed out on becoming part of now defunct female group, Danity Kane.

Melissa also scored a major role in the dance/romance film ‘Honey 2’, the follow up to Jessica Alba’s original flick, Honey, but it went straight to DVD in the U.S.

She had also released her debut single and video Dance Floor, where she is seen prancing around and posing in an array of leotards and skimpy bathing suits that show off a rounded derrière, similar to Kim’s.

Who would actually think that would be Kim K singing/dancing? Remember…. she has no talent.

– Jessica, Dallas, Texas, 30/8/2012 04:19
Rating 106

Is she going to sue the model for looking like her too?? Stupid, self-obsessed woman. I don’t think I’m alone in wishing she would just disappear.

– lauren, lala land, 30/8/2012 03:14
Rating 98

I want my girl Nicole Scherzinger to sue Kim for infringing on her look and publicity rights as well! That girl does not look THAT much like Kim and anyone who thought it was Kim in the ads must be pretty silly. Besides if Kim so much as passes gas she let’s the world know, surely people would not question if she had an endorsement deal with Old Navy-they’d know it already. Sounds like she only did this because the girl was dating Reggie, the love of Kim’s life. Kim will do anything for money as well. She is the worst type of person you could ever imagine. What a shame that Old Navy would settle this with her. Disgusting.

– LOL SMH, LA, USA, 30/8/2012 02:46
Rating 41

What UTTER nonsense!!! She obviously sued because that girl is prettier! Is she going to sue everyone who wears their hair like that on TV? A style that’s before she ever ‘arrived’. What utter nonsense. I really hate that woman.

– Greg, Belfast Norn Iron, 30/8/2012 02:19
Rating 40

Ha Ha, So we have a nobody that thinks she is somebody and a nobody trying be the nobody that thinks she is somebody, Never knowingly undersold, you can’t make this stuff up.

– Rapidlaser, London UK, 30/8/2012 01:59
Rating 23

So that girl can’t model for anyone because she looks too like Kim? Sounds a bit unfair.

– alwayshocked, Ireland, 30/8/2012 01:47
Rating 89

Get a life Kim.

– Hasan, London, UK, 30/8/2012 01:34
Rating 60

I think she looks more like Eva Longoria. Did Eva sue as well? Actually I have a friend who also has long brown hair. I should tell her to sue old navy for having the audacity to hire an actress who resembles her.

– Cassie, Wyoming, 30/8/2012 01:29
Rating 53

“…a rounded derrière, similar to Kim’s.” Let’s get real – any similarity between them ends at the ass line.

– Kingfish, Atlanta, USA, 30/8/2012 01:26
Rating 33

this women is so full of it!! Does she seriously think every women with long dark hair and brown eyes is trying to imitate her pathetic!!

– Mrs B, buckinghamshire, 30/8/2012 01:06

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Molinaro even tries her hand at a signature Kim ‘look over the shoulder’ pose. NO. There is no such thing as a signature pose. The human body has limited poses. No combination can fairly be considered ‘signature’.

This is almost Old Navy admitting to wanting to use a Kim Kardashian lookalike. However that Molinaro model could well present herself to ANY company to want to market their goods and a company that accepts that offer would be absolved of this form of infringement. A company cannot specifically seek a Kim Kardashian lookalike, BUT a Kim Kardashian lookalike could seek ANY company for promotion of themselves, NOT specifically as Kim Kardashian BUT as themselves.

You see lookalikes have as much right to a certain look as the first person who looks that way who was promoted. If Old Navy managed to sustain ‘deniability’ sufficiently, they could countersue for anti-monopoly issues and modelling industry ‘Fair Opportunity’ laws. Sort of like Kim Kardashian demanding a monopoly on ALL people who look like her, which suppress the opportunity of all lookalikes from having a viable modelling career which is obviously illegal.

Either Old Navy had the intent and owned up, or just wasn’t steady on their feet in thinking through on the anti-monopoly issue. This is where foreign advertising companies who never heard of such and such ‘stars’ could be employed for ‘deniability’, so long as intent is not traced back. If coincidences occur there still is no case then. Melissa Molinaro incidentally could counter sue Kim Kardashian for preventing her from having a modelling career with Old Navy if they have the stomach and CORRECT sense of indignation to re-open up the case, not for money but an apology that will set precedents for case studies in law.

Nick Clegg last night demanded a swingeing new tax on the rich to help ease the financial squeeze being suffered by the less well-off as austerity measures bite.

The Deputy Prime Minister said Britain’s wealthiest should be made to contribute more to the ‘economic war’, which has been made worse by the double-dip recession.

He said an extra ‘time-limited contribution’ from the rich would be seen as fair given the scale of Britain’s financial problems.

Without it, he suggested, Britain could suffer a breakdown in ‘social cohesion’ as seen during last summer’s riots.

Calls for a new tax to soak the rich are likely to antagonise the Tory Right, who argue that cutting taxes is the best way to boost growth and persuade the well-off to pay more.

The Liberal Democrat leader gave little indication of where he thought the new tax should be levied, although he suggested it would be in addition to the party’s existing proposal to levy an annual ‘mansion tax’ on homes worth more than £2million.

In an interview with the Guardian he said the prolonged nature of the battle to tackle the deficit left by Labour called for exceptional measures.

He said: ‘If we want to remain cohesive and prosperous as a society, people of very considerable personal wealth have got to make a bit of an extra contribution.

‘In addition to our standing policy on things like the mansion tax is there a time limited contribution you can ask in some way or another from people of considerable wealth so they feel they are making a contribution to the national effort?

Return of the Laws: Mr Clegg says he wants disgraced David Laws back in Government despite Mr Laws resignation over his expenses

‘What we are embarked on is in some senses a longer economic war rather than a short economic battle.’

Mr Clegg said it was vital for the Government to ‘really hard-wire fairness into what we do in the next phases of fiscal restraint’. He added: ‘If we don’t do that I don’t think the process will be either socially or politically sustainable or acceptable.’

This morning, Susan Kramer, the Lib Dem treasury spokesman in the House of Lords, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘We can’t give a free ride to people. If we’re going to be a coherent society everyone has to carry a share of it.’

She added: ‘At the very upper end income tax probably doesn’t work effectively… a wealth tax is a very interesting way to go.’

In a gloomy assessment, Mr Clegg said it was now clear that what once appeared to be a ‘short, sharp economic battle’ was ‘clearly turning into a longer term process of economic recovery and fiscal restraint’.

He said this would involve ‘sacrifices over a longer period of time, a longer period of belt tightening as a country’ – making it essential that the rich are seen to be playing their part.

Mr Clegg said details of his new tax proposals would be unveiled at next month’s Lib Dem conference.
Nick Clegg’s Lib Dems have refused to support David Cameron’s proposed boundary changes following the collapse of the Government¿s plans for Lords reform

Forced vote: Nick Clegg’s Lib Dems have refused to support David Cameron’s proposed boundary changes following the collapse of the Lords reform

He suggested the tax was likely to target ‘very high asset wealth’. Changes to the top rate of income tax have been all but ruled out following the Coalition’s controversial decision to reduce it from 50p to 45p earlier this year.

Mr Clegg also gave the strongest hint yet that David Laws is set to return to Government in the forthcoming reshuffle.

Mr Laws was forced to quit his post as Treasury Chief Secretary after less than a month following revelations about his expenses.

But he has continued as an informal adviser to Mr Clegg, particularly on economic matters and is now tipped to return as a minister in the Cabinet Office.

Mr Clegg said: ‘I have never made any secret of the fact that I want to see David Laws back in Government.’

Mr Clegg also urged David Cameron to force a vote on proposed boundary changes, which the Lib Dems have refused to support following the collapse of the Government’s plans for Lords reform.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Lets see which MPs are part of the problem that refuse to ratify this Wealth Tax bill. A person earning 1+ million annually should be subject to 80% taxes IMHO. That would mean 200K a year earnings which 99% of the population will not likely achieve given the sluggish jobs growth and England’s lack of positioning on any major trade routes. How many people earn 16,000+ a month (i.e. 200K a year) in England anyway? Wealth distribution otherwise cannot occur. A person earning 10+ million annually should be subject to 90% taxes. That would mean 1M a year earnings which is well beyond most of the WORLD. How many people earn 80,000+ a month in England anyway? So think wealth tax for redistribution of wealth. All that sequestered wealth is not going to make 99% lives better, so might as well tax, then redistribute for healthcare or education and perhaps more council housing for the poor or other cost absorbing initiatives like free power and water or even staples – courtesy of your fat cat plutocrat millions earning types . . . good one Clegg, so who’s going to set up a another series of riots to make sure the 1% understand that the Wealth Tax is for the good of everyone if convincing the corrupted crony Capitalist colluders in Parliament won’t work?

After shooting to fame on Sex, Lies and Rinsing Guys, it’s fair to say Danica Thrall knows how to manipulate men to get her own way.

But now her flirtatious behaviour has landed her in hot water in the Celebrity Big Brother house yet again as she faces eviction for a second time.

The 24-year-old beauty was slammed by her housemates for causing a ‘love triangle’ between former pals Mike ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino and Prince Lorenzo Borghese.

Emotional: Danica Thrall burst into tears as she confronted Mike ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino about nominating her for a second time

And she was forced to listen to every word of their criticism as Big Brother ordered the group to make their nominations in front of each other yet again.

Before the contestants even took to the sofas to deliver their verdict, Martin Kemp admitted he had been shocked by the glamour girl’s behaviour in the ‘Gods and Mortals’ task, explaining she had been ‘teasing’ both The Situation and Prince Lorenzo.

Speaking in the Diary Room, he said: ‘The whole argument between Danica and The Situation has been caused by Danica’s bed-hopping. She teases those boys.
‘It’s disgraceful’: MC Harvey fumed about Danica’s behaviour to Prince Lorenzo following the nominations

‘They think they can snog her. Danica led Lorenzo to the point where I thought he was going to propose. She knows what she’s doing and she’s very good at it.’

But worse was yet to come when Danica’s fellow housemates slammed her behaviour in front of her.

MC Harvey said: ‘I’m sick of this love triangle situation, and I think she was one of the main causes of The Situation and Lorenzo becoming distant when they used to be friends.’

And the beauty was shocked when The Situation turned against her for a second time, saying: ‘Danica uses my emotions against Prince. Although I do care about her, let’s see how the public feels.’

Upsetting: The housemates were forced to make their nominations in front of each other yet again

Meanwhile, Samantha Brick added: ‘We’ve got very different views on how you treat and respect men.’

Danica was left in tears at the end of the nominations and decided to confront The Situation on why he had put her up for eviction again.

‘I would never have done that to you. Never,’ she said. ‘I thought out of everyone I could rely on you, like I said I could.’

Upset: Danica looked on as she was nominated by Ashley, Harvey, Julie, Samantha and The Situation

But the Jersey Shore star claimed his decision was tactical, saying: ‘I practically love you, but I know you have a boyfriend.’

And Danica’s actions caused a further divide between the group when Prince Lorenzo attempted to stand up for her against MC Harvey.

However, the rapper immediately hit back in a scathing attack, suggesting the model’s behaviour has been ‘disgraceful’.
‘I’m sick of this love triangle’: The Celebrity Big Brother housemates fumed that they were fed up of the model’s incessant flirting

‘I’m sick of this love triangle’: The Celebrity Big Brother housemates fumed that they were fed up of the model’s incessant flirting

‘National treasure’: Coleen admitted to Big Brother that she had previously been afraid of nominating Julie

I nearly chocked on my horlicks when Coleen referred to Julie Goodyear as being a national treasure, that gum chewing trouble maker is everything but.

– Kal, Manchester, 31/8/2012 07:39
Rating 2

MC Harvey is a nasty piece of work and not nice to women – Danica is right; he is a bully and a ring leader. Ashley is a stupid but nasty little boy too with no respect for women. Julie Goodyear is a disgrace. I don’t respect Danica’s career but she is not insincere – she is a very honest woman – I like her!

– laura, oxford, 31/8/2012 07:36
Rating (0)

Harvey you numpty you can’t talk about Danica after what you did to Alisha. While all you eejits are looking and hating on Danica the one you should be watching is Julie ‘clacking gum’ Goodyear she’s the silent assassin. Mike the walking ego is playing a great game knowing he’s got the house’s sympathy over Danica he’s playing it for all it’s worth. Prince Lorenzo is a sweetie but hardly stupid. Relationships formed in these situations are doomed before they start. Danica is flirting BUT hardly crime of the century… Unless you’re Mike who doesn’t like not having her 24/7 to himself. I don’t want Danica to leave I think Sam should go she’s boring

– Oxfordshire Annie, UK, 31/8/2012 07:27
Rating (0)

Even though she has faults Danica is so pretty – islingtongrl, Renfrew Scotland, 31/8/2012 03:43 ———————————————————————————- What a sad little comment that is! She’s ugly on the inside, no one knows who the real Danica is. Being pretty will only get you so far and eventually it will lead to trouble, hope she’s prepared for it. As a man i acknowledge she’s pretty, but some men can see through the lipstick and flirty hair playing. She’s a little tramp and i hope in future a real strong powerful man destroys her emotionally and morally!

– Robert, Liverpool, 31/8/2012 07:26
Rating 1

Please, please please vote to keep the lovely Julian in. He’s a lovely and genuine person and deserves to win. Martin Kemp second. As for Julie, well, what a vile, foul mouthed back stabber she is!

– jane, south coast, 31/8/2012 07:22
Rating 3

Harvey – You are a vile Hypocrite, and that is 10 time worse than Danica!!!

– RJ, London, 31/8/2012 07:20
Rating 1

Danika is a vile woman.

– only me, Bedford, 31/8/2012 07:13
Rating 1

My my, aren’t we all judgemental. I’m sure nobody commenting here has ever done anything others wouldnt approve of. I’m not a big fan of her behaviour in the house (or at leastbwhat C5 have chosen to show us), but I think she had a point last night. The boys have formed a nasty gang against her. For my money, she’s just a silly girl. The real nasty piece of work is Julie. What a malevolent crow. She is playing every single one of the housemates for fools. She is the true villain of the piece, not sideshow Danica.

– Miffster’s Mum, Nowhere, 31/8/2012 07:10
Rating (0)

Can not stand Danica! Spoilt madam!

– nicole, London, 31/8/2012 07:06

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Is this Danica even a real person? Lets pretend if not because the issue is quite interesting . . . Danika could make a fortune TEACHING others to use that mojo as she does (uncontrolled mojo btw leads to rapes of even Burkha clad women, even though their eyes cannot even be seen, a man though can sense the ‘spirit’ of such women and get excited – so the chips fall in trhe Middle East . . . Danika however actually IS in control!).

Don’t condemn and put Danika in proper perspective and context. Danica could change the sex lives of the ‘untrained’ FOREVER perhaps via some seminars or what not! This is talent and must not be blunted by attacks like this. Maybe not suitable for some reality shows or some social situations, but must not be lost or weakened! Danika could in fact create a renaissancxe in sex positivism as well as overhaul the henpecked feminazi manipulated psychiatric establishment and nridge the alpha male group to mainstream society!

Danika sound like beyond mere sex, but can be the MIND OF SEX. Just immature and needs proper context (reality TV is no context for anything btw, just aggravation and lots of poseurs bullying those watching unawares, or if not ‘their own size/skill’.). Freud style genius in the making here, though not for the lower classes, this is a high society skill to be propagated! Incessant flirting is only so in the podunk village Danika comes from, that is probably peopled with retards, so when finally in the limelight Danika goes into overdrive and makes everyone feel threatened . . . Danika should find or create that niche for what she does so well! Don’t miss this comment!

ARTICLE 15

Hordes of randy Republicans were expected to be a boon for Tampa’s Sunshine State many strips clubs, but owners and dancers are still waiting for their RNC stimulus package – by Rich Schapiro / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS – Thursday, August 30, 2012, 6:05 AM

Scantily-clad beauties perform at Mons Venus strip club in Tampa on Tuesday. Strippers were promised a booming business with the Republican National Convention in town, but so far it’s been a bust.

TAMPA — The wildly anticipated Republican nudie-bar bonanza has turned out to be a double D-sized bust.

Strippers across this mammary mecca were anticipating an orgy of business this week from the crush of conventioneers.

Instead, three days into the RNC, Tampa’s dancing beauties were still waiting for their stimulus packages.

“My friend told me I’d make $3,000 a night this week,” said a slinky brunette named Jordan, as she gazed dejectedly around an empty Mons Venus bar on Monday, the Isaac washout day in Tampa. “I’ve made $100 tonight and it’s already 3 a.m.”

“I don’t even know what I’m still doing here,” she added. “This sucks.”

Don’t even know what ‘I’m’ still doing here? Don’t be ungrateful! Just look at the jobless GRADUATES who owe the ‘Education-Financiar-Complex’ while interest piles up. Lucky to be earning so much in such nice conditions!

OUR TEAM IN TAMPA REPORTS LIVE FROM THE RNC

The scene was no different at 2001 Odyssey, located just across the street, where some strippers were dealing with their own personal deficit crises.

A dancer named Sicily said she was actually down more than $100 after working Friday, Sunday and Tuesday. Strippers at 2001 Odyssey pay a stage fee every night — and Sicily said the club raised it from $50 to $100 this week.

“I wish I was going home with one dollar in my pocket,” Sicily said. “That’s sad.”

Warren Colazzo, owner of Thee Dollhouse, had predicted that the convention haul would triple the cash brought in during previous Super Bowls hosted in Tampa.

But between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. Wednesday, his sleek club drew only one extremely drunk conventioneer in an ill-fitting suit who was seen being reprimanded by a burly security guard.

A pair of cocktail waitresses, in skin-tight American flag corsets and barely-there blue thongs, looked bored.

Asked how her week has been, Karen Kennard, an ample-chested blonde, broke into a pained smile.

“Hashtag 2012 RNC money myth,” quipped Kennard. “I’ve worked four Super Bowls. I was hoping to be inundated financially in Super Bowl proportions, but it definitely hasn’t happened yet.”

Not all of the delegates have acted like choir boys, of course. A smattering of randy Republicans have mixed canoodling with conventioneering.

A portly delegate in a white button-down shirt and khaki pants showed up at 2001 Odyssey Monday night still wearing his convention credentials.

Every five minutes or so, he disappeared into a back room to get a lap dance.

“That guy can’t get enough,” one stripper remarked.

An hour or so later, a politico in a blue blazer emerged from the private VIP area tailed closely by a busty brunette. He made a beeline for the club’s ATM machine and pulled out $400 before walking back out, his hand on the small of her back.

Monica Fox, a stripper at Mons Venus, said a pair of GOP bigwigs stopped by Monday afternoon — and one of them treated her like royalty.

“He had money, and he had no problem spending it,” Fox said.

But she was one of the very lucky ones. At 4 a.m. Wednesday, a heavily tattooed stripper named Anna surveyed the scene at 2001 Odyssey — where a gaggle of girls were jostling for the attention of three guys in suits — and offered her take on why business was so bad.

“To be honest, I think a lot of them just hired escorts,” she said. “That’s more their style.”

See how Tampa strip clubs prepared for the RNC in this video report

rschapiro@nydailynews.com

Craig Warga/New York Daily News

Dancers at Mons Venus strip club in Tampa told The News that business has been terrible.

At 100 per night, 2-3K a month is quite fair! This is relaxing half day shift of 4 hours at most, to just prance around a pole, get some exercise, or get groped and pawed abit! Look at all those degree holding debt ridden graduates who earn nothing for years! Remember to put some aside for your retirement girls! Education should be free, and even then there might be no takers for education!

The Rev. Benedict Groeschel, a New York priest, is apologizing following criticism he’s receiving for saying that priests accused of child sex abuse are often seduced by their accusers and that a first-time offender shouldn’t go to jail.

NEW YORK — A New York priest apologized Thursday after coming under criticism for saying that priests accused of child sex abuse are often seduced by their accusers and that a first-time offender should not go to jail.

The Rev. Benedict Groeschel of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal made the comments in an interview with the National Catholic Register published this week. The website for the conservative independent Register then removed the story and posted an apology for publishing the comments. Groeschel and the friars did as well.

Asked about working with priests involved in abuse, Groeschel said, “Suppose you have a man having a nervous breakdown, and a youngster comes after him. A lot of the cases, the youngster – 14, 16, 18 – is the seducer.”

In expanding on his answer, Groeschel also referenced Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State coach convicted of sexually abusing boys, referring to Sandusky as “this poor guy” and wondering why no one said anything for years.

He also added later that anyone involved “on their first offense, they should not go to jail because their intention was not committing a crime.”

Editor in Chief Jeanette De Melo posted a note apologizing for “publishing without clarification or challenge Father Benedict Groeschel’s comments that seem to suggest that the child is somehow responsible for abuse. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our publication of that comment was an editorial mistake, for which we sincerely apologize.”

Groeschel also posted an apology to the site. “I did not intend to blame the victim. A priest (or anyone else) who abuses a minor is always wrong and is always responsible. My mind and my way of expressing myself are not as clear as they used to be. I have spent my life trying to help others the best that I could. I deeply regret any harm I have caused to anyone,” he said.

The friars expressed regret for the remarks and highlighted Groeschel’s medical history. They said he had been in a car accident several years ago, and that “in recent months his health, memory and cognitive ability have been failing.” They described the comments as “out of character.”

The Archdiocese of New York repudiated the comments in a statement posted on its website, calling them “simply wrong.”

“Although he is not a priest of the Archdiocese of New York, what Father Groeschel said cannot be allowed to stand unchallenged. The sexual abuse of a minor is a crime, and whoever commits that crime deserves to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” spokesman Joseph Zwilling said.

Groeschel is not a priest with the Archdiocese in any specific parish but has worked with it in the past. He helped start the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in 1987. He hosts a weekly show, “Sunday Night Prime,” on EWTN, the Catholic television network.

Deacon Bernard Nojadera, executive director of the Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said, “There is never a time when you can blame a minor who is sexually assaulted for the crime perpetrated upon him or her. The responsibility is always with the adult. Sexual abuse of a minor is abhorrent and indefensible. It is especially heinous when the abuse is perpetrated by a cleric.”

David Clohessy, director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, said there needs to be consequences for figures like Groeschel, “who say incredibly hurtful and mean-spirited things.”

Comments like Groeschel’s “discourage victims, witnesses and whistleblowers from reporting horrific crimes both known and suspected,” he said.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Another contrived NLP article? Well here’s an answer for answerings sake. This Groeschel guy is too old, mellow and tired, also too deeply socialised to think through the whys or argue. All of the above articles’ responses were not so easy to elucidate or apply immediately under the barrage of abuse the poor guy got hammered with (as per the NLP manufactured b.s. . . . of course . . . ). As mentioned, earlier, the reptillian brain and the day-to-day personality are entirely different things, and children being partially socialised can and do communicate at different levels. THAT is what Groeschel meant. Not that sexual abuse is normal, especially in consensual cases, but that everything takes 2 hands to clap. Yea for sure, the other Benedict (Arnold? Nope . . . ) needs to grow a thick shell, no amount of NLP fake articles will make child abuses go away . . . honesty is better than harbouring paedophile Catholic (or whatever denomination) Priests. Time for those overdue melons . . . no mellowing here!

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. — Republican Mitt Romney accused President Barack Obama on Tuesday of ditching a long-standing work requirement for welfare recipients, accusing him of fostering a “culture of dependency” and backing up the charge with a new television commercial.

White House press secretary Jay Carney said the allegations were “blatantly dishonest … hypocrisy knows no bounds.” He added that Romney, while serving as Massachusetts governor, had once petitioned the White House to loosen employment rules for those on welfare.

Romney made his accusation in a relatively rare occurrence in the race for the White House — an appearance before voters outside the small group of battleground states likely to settle the Nov. 6 election.

Illinois and its 20 electoral votes are politically safe territory for Obama in the fall. Romney was there for a fundraiser as well as a stop at a manufacturing company, part of the intense competition between the two candidates to stockpile cash for the stretch run to Election Day.

The president had a pair of fundraisers on his campaign schedule for the day, both within a few blocks of the White House.

In a race as close as this one, the taunts were getting personal.

Romney, interviewed on Fox News, said Obama was “saying things that are not accurate” when it comes to taxes. He referred to a crack the president made on Monday night as “Obama-loney,” rhyming it with baloney.

At a fundraiser, Obama called Romney’s tax plan Robin Hood in reverse — “Romney Hood” — and repeated his accusation that it would mean tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans while forcing the middle class to pay the IRS as much as $2,000 more a year.

The president wants to extend tax breaks due to expire at all income levels, except above $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for a couple. He has made his proposal central to a pitch to middle- and working-class voters as he seeks a second term with unemployment at 8.3 percent.

Romney wants to keep the tax cuts in place at all income levels, and has proposed an additional 20 percent reduction in rates.

Romney’s decision to introduce the welfare issue into the campaign seemed aimed at blue-collar, white working-class voters in a weak economy, and suggested that Obama might be gaining ground politically with his position on taxes.

It also marked an attempt to take the gloss off the recent announcement that former President Bill Clinton will have a prime-time speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C. early next month.

Appearing before hundreds of supporters at a manufacturing plant near Chicago, Obama’s hometown, the Republican challenger said bipartisan legislation signed into law by Clinton in 1996 “reformed welfare to encourage people to work. They did not want a culture of dependency to continue to grow in our country,” he said of the then-president and Congress, which was under Republican control at the time.

He said that, just recently, Obama “has tried to reverse that accomplishment by taking the work requirement out of welfare. That is wrong, and If I’m president, I’ll put work back in welfare. …We will end a culture of dependency and restore a culture of good, hard work,” he said.

Romney’s new ad buttressed the point.

“Under Obama’s plan you wouldn’t have to work and wouldn’t have to train for a job. They just send you a welfare check, and welfare to work goes back to being plan old welfare,” the announcer says in the commercial.

“Mitt Romney will restore the work requirement.”

Under the law signed by Clinton and amended a decade later, the federal government does not provide a guaranteed benefit to welfare recipients. Instead, the states receive federal funds and are permitted to establish a variety of programs to benefit the poor. The government imposes a limit on the length of time families can receive aid and requires recipients eventually to go to work.

The Romney campaign circulated material during the day that quoted Obama, then a state senator in Illinois, as saying he “probably would have voted against it” if he had been in Congress.

The Obama administration recently announced plans to issue waivers to states that wanted “to test alternative and innovative strategies, policies and procedures” to improve employment among needy families. It said it was acting after receiving requests from some of the nation’s governors, including Republicans in Utah and Nevada. But senior GOP lawmakers attacked the move as an attempt to undermine the welfare-to-work requirements in effect for more than a decade.

Officials with access to detailed advertising information said it appeared the commercial was airing at heavy levels in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio and Virginia — states where the race is closest.

Romney was himself targeted with a new ad during the day, this one launched by Priorities USA Action, a super PAC that supports Obama.

It features a former Kansas City steelworker who says his company was taken over in 1993 by a group that included Bain Capital, the private equity firm co-founded by Romney.

“When Mitt Romney and Bain closed the plant, I lost my health care, and my family lost their health care,” he said. His wife became ill, but “I think maybe she didn’t say anything because she knew we couldn’t afford the insurance,” he says. By the time she went to the hospital, she was diagnosed with cancer and died quickly, he said.

“I do not think Mitt Romney realizes what he’s done to anyone, and furthermore I do not think Mitt Romney is concerned.”

In response, Ryan Williams, a spokesman for Romney, said Obama’s allies “continue to use discredited and dishonest attacks in a contemptible effort to conceal the administration’s deplorable economic record.”

Both parties were fleshing out the speaking schedule for their conventions.

Republicans said Romney’s most persistent primary rival, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, would have a turn at the speaker’s podium. So, too, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, a tea party favorite.

Former President Jimmy Carter will tape a video message to be aired in prime time at the Democratic convention.

Copyright 2012, The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

200K above tax cuts makes no sense and is plutocracy contrived punitive mindedness as hell. That should be REVERSED. 200K and *BELOW* get tax cuts. In fact if cost of living doubles from inflation those earing 200K will still be 10 times readier than those earning 20K a year! What nonsense is Romney spouting? 99% do you see this? Romney is either too stupid or HATES the 99%. The ‘dependency’ excuse is beyond Romney to understand . . . real people are being crushed by inflation and here Romney goes ‘tax cuts ONLY for the rich’. WTH?

A mosque in the Midwestern US state of Missouri has been completely destroyed in a suspected arson attack, the second attack to hit the place of worship in a little more than a month.

Muslim Mosques in the US are filled with jubilance during the holy month of Ramadan.

The Monday incident came a day after a deadly shooting at a Sikh temple in the Milwaukee suburb of Oak Creek in Wisconsin, which took the lives of six people.

Sikh rights groups have reported a rise in bias attacks since the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Washington-based Sikh Coalition has reported more than 700 incidents in the US since 9/11.

Press TV has conducted an interview with Abdul Alim Musa, Imam at Masjid Al-Islam, to further discuss the issue. The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Thank you so much for being with us. There seems to be a rise in hate crimes in general. We have seen just a day ago dealing with the Sikhs, and now we have a mosque that has been attacked and basically burnt down. Why do you think that we are seeing this situation, it seems, on the rise?

Musa: [In the Name of God — the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate], it’s clearly a provocation by the Zionist, Israeli press, to tell you the truth. They have raised the spectrum of Islamophobia so high that people feel like there’s no restriction in their behavior and hatred towards Muslims.

This a new phenomenon that’s growing higher and higher because the press has an unrelenting program of anti-Islamic hatred, day in and day out. It’s not only Fox News but it’s the whole Israeli news apparatus inside of the United States and around the world.

We believe that these so-called hate crimes are a result of this type of propaganda, anti-Islamic propaganda that’s spread all over this country.

Press TV: As you’ve just said, Imam Musa, because you’ve talked about the anti-Islamic propaganda, and even with many of the Sikhs that are attacked is because the individuals don’t realize that they are not Muslims.

It seems that Islam is the religion that is under attack the most. What do you think is the responsibility of Muslims? Is it there anything that Muslims can do in general and trying to, as you said, counter what you called the Zionist media’s influence over there?

Musa: Those who have the resources must help us to have our own independent media presence inside of the United States. The only way we can counter falsehood is with truth. It has to be constant. It has to be regular, and it has to be high-profile.

The reason that the people respond to Islamophobia in the press is because they never hear the opposite side. We’re dehumanized and made into inhuman pictures, so to speak, so we have to humanize our self. This is our, and I say Muslim, and people of conscious. It’s our responsibility to educate the public.

You have to remember that the American people are generally a good and fair people. These are general American citizens. What happens is when they’re not properly informed, trained or educated, then they use the news media as their sounding tool.

This is our problem. We have to step up, number one, our unity and cooperation among each other; and number two, our entire media profile.

I would like to say one thing on this issue of mosque burning. There has been over the decades no mosque burning in the African-American community because the African-American community is more familiar with Islam and Muslims, and usually one member of a family in Africa-America will have some association with Islam.

Therefore, people know more about the improved behavior of someone when they become a Muslim.

But the general public only hears the terrorist bombings, uncivilized behavior planted in the media by the Israeli press.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

As long as the Islamists among Muslims try to subjugate or consider themselves above every other faith much like Zionists among Jews do the same, Islam and to a lesser extent, Monotheism is the enemy of humanity.

Moody’s downgraded nearly 300 U.S. municipal issuers in the second quarter, the most for any quarter in more than a decade and the latest sign of the potential pressure building in the market where states and local governments raise money.

Local areas across the U.S. have been struggling for several years after the recession sharply undercut revenues, with three cities in California recently filing for bankruptcy in an attempt to alleviate their financial burdens.

Tax receipts have rebounded but not enough to compensate for rising costs, which include healthcare spending, social welfare and labor.

About half of the downgrades in the quarter affected the debt of cities and school districts, such as that of Clark County in Nevada, one of the largest in the U.S., Moody’s said. The school district serves five cities including Las Vegas.

In the quarter, Moody’s also downgraded $6.9bn of rated debt associated with Detroit, Michigan’s biggest city, and cut the ratings for Stockton, California ahead of the city’s bankruptcy filing. The city filed for bankruptcy on June 28.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

The number of incorporated town and cities is over 30,000 but defining the actual cities and towns from their metropolitan areas has a wide margin or error. In 2002, the National League of Cities put the total at 19,429 municipal governments in the US. So 300 municiples is NOTHING and represents less than 2%. Is this to say that 98% of Municipals are doing well? In that case USA should not be in debt anymore. Moody’s still feels like Cheeries . . .

ARTICLE 4

Syria: Potential to Kick Start World War III: Stand by for War, Syria is not in Control

Syria. The latest war front to open between the super powers of the North, East, West, and South. Fundamentalists, with an emphasis on the “mental” will be in a slavish, mouth hanging-open, drooling fervor, this could be the end of the world. The Bear in the North, Israel under threat, the dragon in the East…

The truth is that this nothing more than another pissing competition between the various super powers. A potential cold-war like flash-point of our age.

The United States cares nothing for democracy in the region, what they do care about is oil, and Israel. Anything else is ancillary. They do care to show up China, Russia, and anyone else who as an ideological stand against the Western ideal.

China and Russia are concerned for oil and couldn’t give a flying one about Israel or much else. They certainly do seem to be having a great deal of fun vetoing the shit out of the UN and blocking the US and it’s allies.

Iran sided this week with Syria as well, Israel continues to make more and more threatening noises about bombing them, or rather their nuclear programme, but it is unlikely to happen. In order to render Iran’s nuclear programme inert, you’d pretty much have to kickoff world war III.

What of course is happening is that a gigantic amount of military hardware is gathering in the Mediterranean Sea. It is frankly, epic in its scale and of course has been missed by every mainstream (politically influenced) media outlet.

The Turkish navy is there in force, as are of course, the Syrians. The Americans have no less than three aircraft carriers there and the Russian and Chinese have a sizable force. Iran is there of course, as are the Bulgarians, the Romanians, the Ukrainians, and the Georgians. The French, British, and Germans are in the area as well.

This is possibly one of the largest naval build ups in history, and they are all squashed together into a small, tight space, waving their guns about and bristling with military testosterone.

All it will take to start the largest naval battle the world has seen, closely followed by World War III, is one idiot to push a button by accident. I guess future generations, once the ocean has stopped glowing, will have one of the most amazing dive experiences to visit.

There is only one thing that will prevent this from happening. The US, China, Europeans, and Russians must decide on how to divide up the spoils of the Syrian’s war before someone accidentally pushes the wrong button. Look for a “no-fly zone” discussion, that usually means that all parties are nearing some kind of agreement.

No doubt this negotiation over the bones of Syria is going on behind closed doors, Syria has lost control, there is no way that they will be able to retain their own country with the four great vulture nations hanging around in a black cloud.

Someone is supplying the Syrians and someone is supplying the “rebels”. It is unlikely that a bunch of rag-tag rebels can hold off what is a highly sophisticated Syrian Military machine. That means that both sides, the US & Europe vs the Russians & Chinese, have iron on the ground and most likely their own troops in logistical support.

One question remains. Will the four great vultures be able to figure out how to divide the spoils before World War III starts?

One thing is certain. Syria is dead.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

This will not be WW3, but an unpleasant skirmish that holds Israel as the biggest threat because of potential suicidal retaliation with nukes. If everyone keeps their nukes unused, a regional war will that may involve all Islamist countries may occur.

Europe is no lover of Jews, and may remain neutral though the hawks among EUrope may join to no great effect. Africa does not care but could represent auxillery backup to SCO if BRICS gets involved. South America does not care. ASEAN has no viable military resources excepting Thailand’s single aircraft carrier.

That may leave Russia and China (if not bribed with policy to not involve military – one wonders if China might want this opportunity to get Israel for allowing Israeli servers to host Falungong’s website though . . . ) to struggle over control of Syria and perhaps an Iran overrun Israel (that could in panic use nukes to hit Iran and irradiate the entire Middle East including Israel – but by not doing so will definitely be overrun barring high tech methods, if Iran moves quickly).

USA if not ready to commit 100s of 1000s of troops to liberate Israel, will be forced out of the Middle East. If US does send troops, this will be a war of liberation that might take decades to resolve.

Syria will survive but it will be Assad who will benefit most from the above scenario with everyone busy with war, even then Assad has to go due to term limit issues, and eventually have to face tribunals though this could be decades ESPECIALLY if Syria provides the infrastructure for China and Russia to control Syria that looks to be happening now.

Under the Achaemenids, Aramaic continued to prosper, but Assyrian continued its decline. The language’s final demise came about during the Hellenistic period when it was further marginalized by Koine Greek, even though Neo-Assyrian cuneiform remained in use in literary tradition well into Parthian times.

Neo-Assyrian Empire

The religion of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, 911 BCE-608 BCE, sometimes called Ashurism by Assyrians today, centered around the god Assur, patron deity of the city of Assur, besides Ishtar patroness of Nineveh. Gods such as Sin, Shamash, Nisroch, Adad (Hadad), Enlil, Shulman, Dagan, Tammuz and Ninurta were also important in the Assyrian pantheon. The Assyrians adopted Eastern Rite Christianity during the course of the 1st to the 4th centuries AD (which they still retain) and the religion died out, although there is some evidence to suggest that it survived in isolated pockets well into the late Middle Ages in northern Mesopotamia/Assyria, particularly around Ashur and Harran.

The people of Mesopotamia were polytheistic Sumerian and Akkadian religions. This was represented through the gradual takeover by Ashur of the roles of other gods, and this process runs parallel with the expansionist policies of the Assyrian Empire.[6] As the Assyrians extended their domain over other lands, they considered it important that the local peoples acknowledge the Assyrian king as the king of their lands as well. However, kingship at the time was linked very closely with the idea of divine mandate.[7] The Assyrian king, whilst not being a god himself, was acknowledged as the chief servant of the chief god, Ashur. In this manner, the king’s authority was seen as absolute so long as the high priest reassured the peoples that the gods, or in the case of the henotheistic Assyrians, the God, was pleased with the current ruler.[7] For the Assyrians who lived in Assur and the surrounding lands, this system was the norm. For the conquered peoples, however, it was novel, particularly to the people of smaller city-states. In time, Assur was promoted from being the local deity of Assur to the overlord of the vast Assyrian domain,[7] with worship being conducted in his name throughout the lands of the Assyrians. With the worship of Assur across much of the Fertile Crescent, the Assyrian king could command the loyalty of his fellow servants of Assur.

Ashur (Syria), the patron deity of the city of Assur from the Late Bronze Age, was in constant rivalry with the patron deity of Babylon, Marduk (Israel). Therefore safe to say that Judaism is powered by the spirit of Marduk though not necessarily worshipped in the correct form.

The last king of Babylon, the Assyrian born Nabonidus, paid little attention to politics, preferring to obsess with worship of the moon god Sin, leaving day to day rule to his son Belshazzar. This and the fact that the Persians and Medes to the east were growing in power now that the might of Assyria that had held them in vassalage for centuries was gone, spelt the death knell for native Mesopotamian power. Considering this link, the best would be to revive the Mesopotamian Ugarit Pantheons or regional war will never end. The spirits of the Elder Gods will never abide being bound in Monotheist forms and will thus create and foment war for eternity until they are reformed around the city state Deity concept. Various Gnostic such as Sabianism and Mandeanism, also still exist.

Bring Back Assyrian Cuneiform

This “mixed” method of writing continued through the end of the Babylonian and Assyrian empires, although there were periods when “purism” was in fashion and there was a more marked tendency to spell out the words laboriously, in preference to using signs with a phonetic complement. After the Arab Islamic invasion and conquest in the 7th Century AD, both Assyria and Babylonia were dissolved. Do semitic Netanyahu and semitic Assad (speak and use Arabic at your own risk Assad, be thankful Syria is no more part of the OIC, the independence of Syria was aided by expulsion . . . ) also Lebanon, realise where they stand now? Unless Zoroaster rises faster, for now Sargon is more likely than Xerxes . . .

The driver was obviously not affluent. Yet, despite all the news about mega-trillion dollar bankster bailouts, mega-million dollar bonuses for financial crooks, and unimaginable compensation packages for corporate CEOs who have moved middle class jobs out of America, something made the down-and-out pickup truck driver associate with the political party of the super-rich.

As I wondered at this strange alliance of the dirt poor with the mega-rich, I remembered that in 2004 Thomas Frank wondered about how the Republicans had managed to convince the poor to vote against their best interests. Frank’s answer, or part of his answer, is that the Republicans use “social issues,” such as gay marriage and Janet Jackson’s exposed nipple to work up indignation over the threat to moral values posed by liberal Democrats.

The working poor have been convinced by Republican propaganda that voting Democrat means giving the working poor’s tax dollars to the non-working poor, to providing medical care and schooling for illegal aliens, and being soft on terrorism.

To the pick-up truck driver, standing up for America means standing up for bankster bailouts and the military/security complex’s multi-trillion dollar wars.

The Karl Rove Dirty Tricks Team has honed the Republican propaganda. Republicans send each other via email an endless number of nonsense stories about Obama being a Muslim, about Obama being a Marxist, about Obama being a Manchurian Candidate turning America over to the New World Order or the United Nations, or to some other dastardly plotting organization. But never is Obama accused of turning the US over to Wall Street, the military/security complex, or Israel.

There is never any citation or source for the accusations in the emails. None are needed, because the words are what the Republicans want to hear. Ask them why Obama would be killing Muslims in seven countries if he was a Muslim, or why Wall Street and the military/security complex would put a Marxist in the White House, and they turn purple with rage. Just by asking the obvious questions instead of joining in the denunciations, a person confirms the propaganda that America is threatened by Obama dupes who won’t stand up for the country.

The non-affluent who rage about welfare, medicaid, Obamacare, and public schools can’t seem to put two and two together. The $750 billion TARP bankster bailout, a small part of the total and ongoing bailout, would have sufficed to cover any holes in these budgets for a long time.. Instead, the money went to reward those who caused the financial crisis and threw millions of Americans out of their homes. As far as I know, the pickup truck driver is one of the dispossessed.

The same brainwashed Americans who rage against Obamacare and are lined up to vote for Romney are oblivious to the fact that Romney, while governor of the eastern liberal Democratic state of Massachusetts, had his version of Obamacare enacted at the state level.

The greatest irony about Obamacare is that it was written by the private insurance companies and diverts Medicaid and Medicare funds to their profits. It is socialized medicine alright, but it is socialism for the private insurance companies.

All it took to convince Red staters to go along with the military/security complex squandering $6 trillion on the Iraq and Afghan wars was yellow ribbon decals and a slogan, “support the troops.”

Obama, Republicans claim, won’t stand up to Syria, or against Iran, or for Israel. But Republicans are proud when Romney goes to Israel to slither on his belly pandering to the crazed, blood-thirsty Israeli prime minister Netanyahu, who called Israeli top generals “pussies” for warning against attacking Iran. Romney told Netanyahu, just tell me what to do, and I’ll do it; I am loyal to Israel. Apparently, flag-waving Republican patriots are not bothered when their presidential candidate announces that as soon as he is in office he will turn over US foreign policy to Netanyahu and send more americans to death and bankruptcy for Netanyahu.

Karl Rove didn’t have any trouble at all in brainwashing red staters to support their own demise. The pickup truck driver could just as well have sported a bumper sticker that read: “Don’t support a Democrat. He might do something for you.”

Yes, I know. It is almost as easy to beat up on Democrats. Bush and Cheney and their neocon hoodlums destroyed the Constitution and, thereby, America. But the Democrats let them. It was Nancy Pelosi, who as Speaker of the House stridently declared Bush’s impeachment to be “off the table.”

Bush and Cheney unquestionably violated both US and international laws and the Constitution. Nancy Pelosi’s refusal to hold them accountable established the precedent that the executive branch is no longer accountable to law or to the Constitution. In effect, the executive branch now comprises a dictatorship. It acts outside of law and constitutional restraints. On some issues it still has to consult with Congress or the courts, but as the executive branch’s power and audacity grows, consultation will become a formality and then drop away. Congress will have no more influence than the Roman senate under the empire, and courts will become stages for show trials.

Americans elected Obama president expecting that he would restore the rule of law. Instead, he codified the Bush regime’s transgressions and added some of his own. No one of my generation could have imagined the president of the US sitting in the Oval Office signing off on lists of American citizens to be murdered without evidence or due process of law.

So which do you want? The Republican panderer to the rich and Israel whose foreign policy is war or the Democrat panderer to the rich and Israel whose foreign policy is war? As Gerald Celente wrote in the July issue of the Trends Journal, americans “argue among themselves why their freak is better than the other freak. They will get angry with you if you call their freak a freak. They will actually fight and die to defend their freaks.”

It is extraordinary that millions of americans actually believe fervently that it matters whether Romney freak or Obama freak gets elected. If americans had any sense, they would stay home and not vote. The 1% control the country, and the 99% had just as well own up to it and stay at home. Nothing is going to change because of the ballot box.

What do you suppose the Ron Paul supporters will do? Will they see Romney as the less socialist of the two and vote for the Republicans who stole the nomination from Ron Paul? (Jaret Glenn, “How the GOP Establishment Stole the Nomination from Ron Paul,” published on August 6 on the OpEdNews website. (http://www.opednews.com/populum/printer_friendly.php?content=a&id=154033)

The US is ruled by a private oligarchy. The government is merely their front. The country’s resources are diverted to the pockets of Wall Street, the military/security complex, and to the service of greater Israel. The oil, mining, timber, and agribusiness companies control the Environmental Protection Agency and the Forestry Service, which is why regulation only pertains to the small individual, while fracking, mountaintop removal mining, and pollution of air, water, and soil run wild.

The oligarchs have succeeded in making americans a dispossessed majority in their own country. In November americans will again give their approval to one of the oligarchy’s two candidates.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Right minded, intended to be sarcastic (meaning the less well read might take verbatim for truth!) and ends with an unpleasant NLP : “The oligarchs have succeeded in making Americans a dispossessed majority in their own country. In November americans will again give their approval to one of the oligarchy’s two candidates.” Inadvertent or intentional? In this day of subliminal TV, even the best can be affected and NGOs have been known to be ‘taken over’ . . . how democratic or freedom loving Paul Craig is we may never know.

So we must note . . . NO. The oligarchs have NOT succeeded and do not deserve to succeed EVER. Vote only for Joe Public types not worth more than a handful of millions! The poorer, the less GLC linked the better!

If Americans had any sense, they would stay home and not vote. The 1% control the country, and the 99% had just as well own up to it and stay at home. Nothing is going to change because of the ballot box. WRONG.

More negativist NLPs?If a Joe Public type runs for election in ALL states then voting will make a difference. Not voting is even more dangerous. The bad candidates on either side(s) want you to not vote. that way their en bloc voters will dominate, while those who did not vote and could have toppled the vote might have managed to put their votes together to prevent or counter balance the vote into someone better.

Those who don’t vote are killing democracy but an independent candidate is also needed to make for a choice (actually Anna Hazare suggested a (None of The Above Box) on ballot papers as well, meanwhile run for candidacy if your candidate is GLC, plutocrat or more than 2 terms in office . . .

Articles May Be Reproduced Only With Authorship of Br Nathanael Kapner & Link To Real Jew News (SM)

THE GOYIM IN AMERIKA have allowed Jewry to socially engineer them into fearing to criticize “the Jewish people.”

The oft-heard response by the Gentile mass man to any criticism of the Jews is:

“I have a great love for the Jewish people” (although he only knows one or two Jews) and, “My neighbor is Jewish and he’s a really nice guy.”

Yet, this “really nice Jewish guy” is in corporate unity (owing to his identifying as a “Jew”) with a highly organized race centered around a politically-charged religious bloc that has imposed its total control on Amerika:

Control of Amerika’s Money

The Jewish-owned Federal Reserve Bank loans ‘book-entried money’ to the US at interest. Both Greenspan and Bernanke recently confessed that the Fed was “privately-held.”

Control of Amerika’s Industry

Jewish Wall Street donates huge sums to presidential campaigns, playing both sides of the Right-Left hoax.

Jewish Investment Banks like Goldman Sachs underwrite the stocks of US corporations and thus dictate the offshoring of America’s blue and white collar manufacturing jobs to China and India for cheap labor and BIG profits.

Control of Amerika’s Politicians

Both the Republican and Democrat Parties are manipulated by Jewish money.

The Jewish-controlled Republican Party decided to snub Ron Paul, forbidding him to speak at the upcoming Republican National Convention.

The Military brass depends on the Jewish-owned Fed for their paychecks and on the Armaments Industry, whose stocks are underwritten by Jewish Investment Banks like Goldman Sachs, for their post-military careers & perks.

High-powered Jews sit on the Boards of Military manufacturers such as Kenneth Duberstein, Media consultant, who serves on the Board of the Boeing Company. And Leon Panetta, Secretary of Defense, is a verified stooge of the Jews. Chuckie & Leon were former roommates.

Control of Amerika’s Public Schools

The American Federation of Teachers is run by Jews and the ADL has infiltrated the Public Schools, brainwashing young children with homosexual and race-mixing/miscegenation books.

Control of Amerika’s Academia

Jewry donates huge grants to the Ivy League Schools and apparently places Jewish personnel in high positions such as David Skorton, President of Cornell.

Jewish Wall Street mogul, Sanford Weil, Chairman Emeritus of Citigroup, is a major benefactor of Cornell University and also funds 500 Academies via his National Academy Foundation.

Control of Amerika’s Supreme Court

Three Jews sit on the Supreme Court Bench: Elena Kagan, Stephen Breyer, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. While Jewry makes up less than 2% of the US population it maintains 33% representation on Amerika’s highest bench.

Two of the largest “think tanks” are the American Enterprise Institute and the Foreign Policy Initiative – once the Project for a New American Century. Both brought us the LIE of Saddam’s WMD and both are Jewish-Neocon dominated.

Non-Government Organizations, used by the CIA as covert operational entities, are Jewish-dominated. Billionaire Jew, George Soros, oversees a myriad of NGO’s.

The National Endowment for Democracy — a CIA cover — is Jewish-run.

AMERICA WAS ONCE the ‘home of the brave’ and the ‘land of the free.’ Today, Amerika is the home of the Jews and the land of Gentile slaves.

But to aim one single criticism at just one single Jew is not only taboo it could get you a One Way Ticket to Guantanamo Bay…

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Propaganda within propaganda? To ferret out ‘Jew haters’?

Israel is many times smaller than USA. And understand that fiat currency has no value. Whatever the banks think banks have as wealth is actually DEBT on the promise of future labour of individuals who can retire, default, fall ill, get hurt or age and then be unable to pay back. Debt is not wealth. Debt is slavery. And if Zionists own slavery, all that takes is for the world’s citizens to default on payments to Zion owned banks. There is no real wealth that Zionists have, all that takes is a rebellion/default against banks which results in bankruptcies that destroys so-called ‘wealth’.

Israel has no real resources barring monopoly on Judaism which is not mainstream even in USA. USA HAS real solid commodity type resources. So USA has wealth. That is all anyone needs to know. Banks do not exist. Banks are a ponzi scheme. Fiat is a ponzi scheme. Among all alphabet departments and bureaus only the police (and in war torn regions, military) have real value which we pay for by unreasonably imposed taxes that keep rising. The police themselves get nothing but serve the 1% because they ‘might’ become the same oppressors of mankind. Excepting top brass, the military being low profile might end up on the streets homeless . . .

Real wealth is whatever REAL tangible property owned, and I do not mean tiny pigeon hole coop hi-rise apartments or rabbit hutch terraces or even those high density duplexes with barely 10 feet of space on each side. Commodities are wealth though severely infected by fiat and ‘bank wealth’ – could be affected by price corrections. Drop the fiat and stock and banks (with unreasonable and waaay beyond interest rate charges) and we will see real wealth. Other than convenience of conveyance and liquidation which can be done with precious metals, banks have no value at all and in fact entrap wealth into low earnings paradigms unlike land and real goods and real services and real skills and real labour. There is no money. So Israel has in effect no influence on the 99% who must learn to boycott and buy practical goods. That debt owned by banks is liable to defaulters or bank collapse. That leaves ‘Shylock’ with no real wealth. Run for election and vote only for Joe Public types.

And stop spouting here Bro Nat, prepare a political campaign, and stand for election in the district or state currently residing in, to remove the lovers of Zionists among USA’s governors, USA’s congressmen etc.. Zionists are no better than world conquest intent Nazis or greedy plutocrats.

Whilst it is defended by some as “culture”, the production of Chicken and Cowmeat results in the suffering of millions of cows, chickens, sheep and pigs (also called Pork) every year in several countries around the world, most notably in Western countries.

What is Meat?

Chicken meat and, to a lesser extent, pig also sheep meat is often eaten for its perceived health benefits, or as food to accompany wine and beer or hides tanned and made into clothing much like human skin can also be processed. Its production has evolved from small-scale businesses into billion-dollar industries. Many chickens and cows are taken from the farms (stolen pets or strays included) but in some countries millions of cows and sheep are intensively bred and farmed in terrible conditions. The tens of millions of animals used in this industry each year undergo prolonged suffering through transportation and handling, and face an agonising death.

What you should know?

The availability of Chicken and Cow or Sheep meat is most widespread in Asia, where conservative estimates suggest that over 180 million chickens and more than 400 million cows are humanely culled for human consumption each year. It is estimated that 100-200 million sheep are consumed annually in USA, 50 million in England, 200 million in English speaking countries, 5 million in the Antilles, and an unknown but large quantity in Europe; though some believe the true figures to be far greater. meat is also popular in some areas, notably in England’s and USA’s backwood’s province where chicken and cow are part of famous traditional dishes: “Surf and Turf” or “Bangers and Mash” which are beef and pork meat dishes.

In USA a liquid or ‘juice’ made from beef and chicken is sometimes consumed as a ‘tonic’ for its perceived health properties, or made into ‘blood pudding’. However, wherever Chicken and Cowmeat is popularly eaten, the industry either operates unregulated or illegally.

Chicken and Cowmeat production is inherently cruel. It is widely acknowledged that these animals cannot be raised and slaughtered humanely for commercial use. In USA, England and many European and western countries there are thousands of pig or sheep farms where pigs are intensively bred and reared for meat production. On these farms even their most basic needs are not met, such as the provision of adequate food and water and veterinary care, and physical and mental suffering is obvious. If they are not farmed, the chickens and cows used in the meat trade are either stolen pets or unowned strays taken from the street. In meat markets in some countries, the animals are slaughtered in full view of each other. Unhygienic and stressful conditions on farms and in markets result in high levels of mortality.

Many countries in the world have humane methods of slaughtering chickens and cows for human consumption but do not use the methods due to added yet tolerable cost. Common methods of slaughtering these animals include electrocution, hanging and beating with the worst cases involving eating the animals while ALIVE as if Americans and Europeans were animals with no humane method of culling (much less humanely) before consmption. There are also numerous reports of animals being dehaired and cooked whilst still alive. Unfortunately, in countries where Chicken, Sheepmeat ((also called mutton) and Cowmeat (also called beef) is consumed, it has either not yet been banned, or the existing legislation is not being sufficiently enforced, such as in the USA where chicken and cow meat has never been banned.

Whilst in some countries Chicken and Cowmeat is often consumed for its perceived health benefits, there is a growing body of evidence highlighting the significant risk its production and consumption can pose to human health. For example, the trade in pigs and cows for meat has been linked to outbreaks of H1N1, Mad Cow Disease and FMD, and there have been numerous reports from USA, England and many western countries of mad cow disease or H1n1 or FMD virus transmission to humans after preparing or consuming cow or chicken meat.

Whilst Chicken and Cowmeat is often fiercely defended as part of ‘culture’ or ‘tradition’, it is a highly contentious and emotive issue in most countries where it is popular, and it is therefore sometimes advertised as something else to avoid negative attention from passers-by or law enforcers where its consumption is illegal. For example, an investigation in London revealed through DNA testing that in several restaurants across the city, chicken and cow meat was being passed off as dog and cat meat.

What you can do

Culture or tradition can never be an excuse for animal cruelty. If you care about animals, never be tempted to try chicken or cow meat – wherever it is available, it will always be the product of immense suffering. This means all fast food joints serving chicken and beef. Whilst in some countries Chicken and Cowmeat is not yet banned, if you do see the meat for sale in countries where the industry is illegal, such as religious countries, please report this to your travel agent or tour operator and to a local animal protection organisation.

Where does this occur?

Chicken (also called Fowl) and cowmeat, also pork (Pig) and mutton (Sheep) and Goat, are consumed in several areas of the world, including parts of USA, England, Europe and many western countries. However, cow and chicken, also pig and sheep consumption is most commonplace in America and Europe, and tourists are most likely to encounter meat from the inhumane battery condition farms in the countries.

What do you do when the city where you live is dying? All over the United States formerly great cities are crumbling, but some are definitely in worse shape than others. One reader recently wrote to me about what she sees happening all around her in Reno, Nevada. The unemployment rate in Reno is now up to 11.7 percent, which is well above the national average of 8.3 percent. But that doesn’t tell the whole story. The recent recession hit Nevada particularly hard and people have been moving out of the state in waves. In fact, the labor force in Nevada has shrunk by close to 20 percent over the past year as workers have moved elsewhere in search of work. But even though the labor force is now nearly 20 percent smaller, the unemployment rate is still well above 11 percent. There simply are not enough jobs in large Nevada cities such as Reno and Las Vegas. Unfortunately for Reno, it does not have the same kind of big corporate money pouring into it that Las Vegas does. The good news is that you can buy a house very, very cheaply in Reno because homes were foreclosed on in droves during the housing crash. Even today, some housing developments that were put up near the end of the boom times look like virtual ghost towns. The main industry in Reno is “entertainment”, but many of Reno’s strip clubs and gambling establishments have aged so badly at this point that they just look kind of depressing. I guess that is kind of fitting, because Nevada has the fifth highest suicide rate in the nation, and Reno has been ranked as one of the top 10 depressed cities in the entire country. As the city has declined, gangs have moved in and the drug trade is flourishing. Reno has been called the meth capital of America, and crime is on the rise. Despite being surrounded by tremendous natural beauty, Reno has become a very unpleasant place in which to live. But what is happening in Reno is also happening in hundreds of other communities across the United States. Our economy is collapsing and our cities are crumbling right in front of our eyes, and it is only going to get worse from here.

A reader of my site named Heather who has been unemployed since November of last year recently shared the following with me….

I am living in Reno/Sparks Nevada and I feel like it is ground zero for collapse. There are a lot of people who are in denial right now and cannot see the larger picture. I keep also saying we are the canary in the coal mine for the rest of the country. It is quite depressing driving around seeing empty office buildings with vacancies and retail areas just empty. Went to the stores and retail seems pretty slow also. I am volunteering at ProNet locally and it helps unemployed people finds jobs and skills. It has been depressing there too with very little jobs out there for many people who need one.

She said that I should share what is happening in Reno with my readers. She wanted people to know what those living in Reno are going through.

You might think that since Reno is so sunny, so warm and surrounded by such natural beauty that it would be one of the happiest places in America.

Unfortunately it turns out that the opposite is true.

Reno is actually a very sad place.

In fact, last year Men’s Health ranked Reno as the ninth saddest city in the United States.

In response to this ranking, one resident of Reno wrote the following….

In light of this disheartening list-making, it is, of course, important for Nevadans to look on the bright side. Rather than allowing these statistics to depress us further, we can consider them a series of challenges that make living in places like Reno and Las Vegas all the more impressive. You don’t just live in Reno. You survive Reno! To dwell in Reno, you must triumph over the odds that are stacked against you—one of the things we’re supposed to do best here.

If we can withstand all of the emotional curveballs thrown at us because we have selected such a turbulent location in which to reside, we can probably survive anything.

As a lifelong Renoite, I am inclined to respond to these lists with defiance. Yeah, things can look pretty grim sometimes when no one can find a job, and there seems to be no way out.

And that is how many Americans are feeling these days. They are broke, unemployed, depressed and out of options.

How can you pick up and start a new life somewhere else when you have no job and no money?

Sadly, a lot of younger Americans are turning to drugs in an attempt to escape the pain of their daily lives.

One article that I found attempted to find humor in the raging meth epidemic that is happening in Reno….

Reno has been affectionately called the meth capital of the nation. Some foolishly think mass drug usage can ravage a city as swiftly as it can ruin a user’s clear complexion. In all reality, drug addiction is no more than an endearing quirk, certainly not a cause for concern. Babies and adolescents with addiction-addled parents should stop being coddled and learn how to take care of themselves. I’ve been doing my own laundry since I was six months old­ — I’m sure they can do the same. If there is anything disturbing about the meth problem in Reno, it’s that it shows the lack of variety in this town. Why don’t you try some uppers like MDMA? Your teeth will thank me.

Unfortunately, Reno is far from alone. In the past I have written about how formerly great cities such as Detroit, Cleveland and Baltimore are completely falling apart as well. This kind of thing is literally happening from coast to coast.

There is a very serious lack of decent jobs in America right now. At this point only 24.6 percent of all jobs in the United States are good jobs.

This has made it increasingly difficult for Americans to be able to take care of themselves.

If you can believe it, more than 100 million Americans are on welfare at this point.

And that number does not even include the tens of millions of people that are on Social Security and Medicare.

What in the world has happened to us?

These days most Americans work really hard all of their lives but never end up reaching their dreams.

In fact, one recent study found that 46 percent of all Americans die with less than $10,000 worth of financial assets.

Talk about depressing.

But instead of having us focus on how bad the economic numbers are, the Federal Reserve wants to start measuring how “happy” everyone is. The following is from a recent ABC News article….

Ben Bernanke wants to know if you are happy.

The Federal Reserve chairman said Monday that gauging happiness can be as important for measuring economic progress as determining whether inflation is low or unemployment high. Economics isn’t just about money and material benefits, Bernanke said. It is also about understanding and promoting “the enhancement of well-being.”

So what would you say if the Federal Reserve contacted you and asked if you are happy?

Please feel free to post a comment with your thoughts below….

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Nonsense. USA could simply distribute all unused land , and tell the people to grow their own crops and build their own houses, raise their own livestock, make their own leather or fur goods, knit their own cotton wear, compost their own sewage, collect their own rainwater or dig their own wells, brew their own beer, roast and grind their own coffee, and grow, ferment and cure their own tobacco leaves for cigars or cigarettes! End of problem, everyone gets a few acres and high-density living ‘hellholes’, will be quite empty without people who have their own land.

BTW there is no such thing as money. There is no such thing as economy or collapse. Too bad for the plutocracy or corporatocracy though! Even if education was free now, citizens will return to 1400s settler-era America not hang around pushing pens and shuffling papers at the 99% of citizens’ expense! Citizens please elect ONLY a President or Governor with the above intent. Executive Order 0 (Zero) for land distribution will be that reset button America needs.

Executive Order 0? Distribute unused land to the homeless with some supplies, by next year when the harvest is in, no more food stamp bills or housing loans in banks for bailouts . . .

People have lived without electricity or petrol since man learnt to walk upright. BTW there is also no such thing as poor people, jobs, concept of money much less a petro-dollar or a Global Financial System or a recession or depression. Alright ‘chicken little(s) if America can’t think what to do or apply what I posted, then the American voters deserve what they get. Simply vote for non-GLC or millionaire Joe Public types who before being voted for, sign statuary declarations to do the above suggested!

Groups like Anonymous should start pushing this voting method/agenda via subliminal rootkits and what not. Lets remove the plutocrats and term limitless Oligarchs from the picture and ensure equitable wealth distribution and political power distribution (with 2 term limits) as well.

ARTICLE 9

Jerry Boykin: Romney’s new Muslim-bashing pal – Posted on 10. Aug, 2012 by Editor in US – Romney meets with Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin, who has said Islam “should not be protected under the First Amendment” – BY ALEX SEITZ-WALD

He may be too extreme for West Point and George W. Bush, but apparently not for Mitt Romney. Politico reports today that the Republican presidential nominee met with retired Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin, who is now a highly controversial anti-Islam activist, in a private conclave with four other social conservative leaders in Denver last week. The day after the meeting reportedly took place, Romney dodged a question on Rep. Michele Bachmann’s witch hunt against Muslims in the U.S. government. “I’m not going to tell other people what things to talk about. Those are not things that are part of my campaign,” he said at a press availability about Bachmann’s allegations last Friday.

Boykin is best known for earning a public rebuke from President Bush himself in 2003 for his vitriolic anti-Islamic rhetoric. Boykin, in uniform at the time, gave a speech portraying the war against Islamist militants as a Christian struggle against Satan, and suggested that Muslims worship an ”idol” and not ”a real God.” Some Republican lawmakers spoke out against him, as well as the president, who said, Boykin’s opinions “didn’t reflect” his or the government’s views. A year later, a Department of Defense investigation determined that Boykin had violated three internal rules while delivering his controversial anti-Islamic speeches.

Since then, Boykin has taken up fighting the perceived threat of Shariah law full-time. As People for the American Way’s Right Wing Watch blog notes, “his rhetoric is often bigoted, and he regularly traffics in wild-eyed conspiracy theories — like the one about Obama creating a Hitler-style militia to force Marxism on the American people.” In 2010, he joined with Frank Gaffney, a key anti-Islamic activist, to lead an effort to produce a massive report on the threat of Sharia law.

For all this, he was forced to withdraw from a speaking invitation at West Point under intense pressure in January of this year. More recently, he was appointed to a senior position at the social conservative Family Research Council. And that’s how he ended up meeting privately with Romney.

Two other members of the group that met with Romney, social conservative activists Gary Bauer and James Dobson, signed on to a letter to House Speaker John Boehner praising Bachmann’s “good judgment, undeniable courage, and great patriotism” for “bravely demanding answers” about potential Muslim Brotherhood infiltration in the U.S. government. Boykin, Right Wing Watch notes, signed on to a separate letter expressing “strong support for congressional efforts to illuminate and address the danger posed by influence operations mounted by the Muslim Brotherhood against government agencies.”

Boykin’s rhetoric goes beyond the careful position most activists tend to stake out — condemn Islamists, but praise “peaceful, pro-America” Muslims. Boykin, on the other hand, goes right after the religion itself, saying Islam “should not be protected under the First Amendment.” He’s declared that there should be “no mosques in America” because “a mosque is an embassy for Islam and they recognize only a global caliphate.”

Considering that Romney’s own faith has repeatedly come under attack over the past century and half, one would think he would be more sympathetic to the plight of religious minorities in this country and not associate himself, whether publicly or privately, with such extremists.

Pay attention to whats going on . . .

Alex Seitz-Wald is Salon’s political reporter. Email him at aseitz-wald@salon.com, and follow him on Twitter @aseitzwald.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Muslims must know their allowed spaces in the world. Romney looks capable of handling this, though appearing quite cynical at times and self serving to a fault (privilege has this effect, how does one obtain a lifetime supply of ‘chezburgers’ . . . distribute some to the bottom of the 99% starving on the streets Romney if not helping army veterans . . . ), excepting that USA looks to be quite inadequate financially as of now. Never though, be unreasonable or abusive to those Muslims who do not dhimmify, do not proselytize or do not attempt to convert (there are those who ‘convert’ secretly or refuse to let their children choose, so careful there children, non-Muslims and non-Monotheists!).

Let there be spaces for all faiths, not proselytize and destroy the faiths and cultures of others . . .

There are many new fronts that are non-military that USA must be able to counter. Obama might need to be ready to show hand in readying people like Boykin above to not appear soft, and the ‘Muslim’ tendency to mass mindedness and social-trade based mobbing to subvert with that mass mind is particularly uncivilised and has affected many. USA needs to have a stronger ‘mind’ not necessarily a (disgusting) hive mind, but indoctrination to counter precisely where Islam intends to ‘colonise’ and to set clear limits where areas of tolerance will be.

I suggest Egypt be off limits where Islam is concerned and worked on by all relevant parties immediately – A PHAROANATE as a West oriented barrier (Egypt before conquest by Bedouin Arabs was a Pharoanate with culture that has been largely copied by the Freemasons. Should a Pharoanate reform, instead of Islamists AGAIN (this is why the Egyptian Military are still influential) Free Masonry even English Free masonry would likely come under the Pharoah’s purview.

The Pharoah (re-enactment), flanked by the Worshipful Master and Grand Hierophants . . . a true blood Egyptian without Arab blood (and a REAL Egyptian name), identified from DNA records should be re-installed as Pharoah with all Priests of non-Egyptian blood considered OUTER ORDER Freemasons (that means English Masons will be ranked below Egyptian Freemasons and if the King of England is a Freemason, the Pharoanate will be Master over England via the English Monarch . . . the glory days days of the Nile and Egyptian Pantheons will again grace the world . . . Got that you military guys in Egypt?

This is Egypt NOT Bedouin Arabia, don’t let the Islamists push non-Muslims around in a secular country . . . let there be as many Egyptian Temples as there are Mosques! And who knows after the Pharoanate is reestablished, if enough Royal Egyptians overseas love the countries they migrated to and live in to be interred there in death, even Pyramids of VVIPs might be built and seen overseas around the world! Freedom of faith as per the UN Charter!

Do not be consumed by faith systems not your own, you people of Egypt! With re-Persianisation if Iran, through Syria and in cooperation with Russia and China with the Eastern Khanates (North cultural barrier), India comfortably holding the (Eastern barrier) East and African Animists holding the South against Islam’s overproliferation and destruction of all local non-Islamic cultures and non-Islamic faiths. Figurines or artwork depicting humans and living things in Islam are also illegal, so Africa and Egypt which have a thriving industry and tourism based around artworks, should think about the differences in culture and artistic natures of the original peoples, as well as conquests which displaced original faith systems etc..

Persia before conquest by Bedouin Arabs was Zoroastrianism with a Persian culture. Suggestion to re-Persianise or re-Zoroastrianise and build away from quake zones.

This is no joke, take a look at Cat Stevens or Hudud accepting CHINESE politicians in Malaysia. Subverted in a most troubling manner. Finally we need the UN Human Rights Charter to be applied in full 60+ years after establishment. No more apartheid, no more extreme religion must be tolerated. USA has lots of friends in Saudi Arabia? Make these mentioned things reality otherwise USA will be taken apart with Europe and even Russia next. Revitalise old faith traditions worldwide, reculturise and be firm USA!

This is Persia’s Original Faith System. Will the High Priest of Zoroaster be restored to Persian society’s rightful place? Way of the Vulture!

After announcing possible amendments banning Russian officials from owning real estate and other property abroad, the State Duma is planning a ban on public servants marrying foreigners.

The author of the bill, United Russia MP Evgeny Fyodorov has told the press that the document includes this restriction.

“Wives and underage children of civil servants must also declare their property and cannot own property or real estate outside the Russian Federation. If a civil servant’s spouse is a foreigner, this person would not have the right to occupy the post. The officials will have to vacate their post if they wish to marry foreigners,” the Lifenews website quoted Fyodorov as saying.

The MP added that foreign spouses were a major factor of foreign influence on state officials and the situation had to change.

The move will not be an absolutely new invention, but the tightening of the existing norms that state that the officials with clearance to work with state secrets cannot marry foreigners.

On the other hand, Fyodorov said that the group that is working on the bill decided to soften it by excluding the Commonwealth of Independent States from the list of countries where civil servants cannot have property.

“We were one country before and many people have relatives there, their roots are there and we will not list the territories of the CIS states or the Customs Union as foreign states where property ownership is banned. We will bring this issue up at the second reading,” Fyodorov said.

The move was supported by Sergey Zheleznyak, the head of United Russia faction in the lower house.

Earlier this month all parliamentary factions in the State Duma backed the proposal to ban the civil servants from owning property abroad, including securities and bank deposits. The MPs suggested those violating this regulation should be held criminally responsible and punished with a three-year ban from holding public office, and between 5 and 10 million rubles (US$150,000 – $300,000) in fines, or up to five years in prison.

An initial draft of the bill also orders civil servants to disclose ownership of foreign property, and sell it off within six months. The law would apply to inherited property and even to individuals leaving state service, effective up to three years post-resignation for both ex-officials and their families.

There are exceptions in the bill for those who need foreign property and bank accounts for work, medical treatment or academic studies.

The Duma has got this one right. VERY Russian! But Russia which is a stabilizing force in the world by providing multipolar option needs to ensure their intelligence or influence in decision is not compromised. A NWO or even worse (though not so likely) Femi-nazi led world with women controlling Duma or Russian male officials through their wives is the worst case scenario possible. Then there is also the Muslim subversion tactics issue using Muslim women to manipulate non-Muslim women hence affecting non-Muslim men etc., which less ethical Muslims use to further Islam via NLPs, even cartoons and porn etc.. Russia needs as much as USA to ensure that Muslims know where their territories physical and mental, even EMOTIONAL and PSYCHIC are, instead of trying to control the world with Islam, and dhimmitise everyone who is not Muslim. Terrorists are not Muslims but there are Muslims proselytizing who are not respecting the rights of other faiths and peoples, this Russia must address equally firmly though not in an abusive manner.

Man, 51, screamed at officers and waved 11-inch knife erratically
Shot twice in the stomach by officers and died in hospital
He refused repeated orders to drop weapon in one of New York’s busiest tourist spots

Police shot and killed a man who lunged at them with a machete in Times Square as he screamed ‘Shoot me, shoot me’.

The terrifying stand-off happened on Saturday afternoon at 3pm in Times Square and was witnessed by dozens of bystanders.

Officers had approached the 51-year-old man who appeared to be smoking marijuana near West 44th Street and Seventh Avenue, in the heart of Times Square, one of New York’s busiest tourist destinations.

Scroll down for video
Terror on the streets: NYPD officers, with their weapons drawn, stalk a machete wielding man in the middle of Times Square

The unidentified 30-year-old male was corralled down seventh avenue by officers of the NYPD as they instructed him to drop his weapon

The man became agitated, pulled out an 11-inch knife and began to put a bandanna on his head, police said.

He refused repeated orders to drop the weapon and began backing down the avenue, continuing for a number of blocks and drawing many officers into a slow-speed pursuit that took them south of Times Square.

According to the police account, officers pepper sprayed the man six times but he held onto the knife throughout the seven-block pursuit.

At West 37th Street, he lunged at police and two officers shot him in the torso, police said. He was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital.

‘They screamed, ”Put it down, put it down,”’ said newsstand worker Sunny Choi, 26, of police orders to the man.

Another witness said that tourists were screaming and running down the packed thoroughfare as the man was corralled down Seventh Avenue by police.

The incident was filmed by witnesses in Times Square as the man screamed obscenities at the police

On the move: Police chased down the 51-year-old waving a knife in the mid-town area of New York

Witnesses recalled a chaotic scene in which some bystanders took cover, while others began following the procession down the avenue in an attempt to capture cellphone video of it.

On video, a number of officers, guns drawn, can be seen pursuing the man as he appears to skip down Seventh Avenue.

‘He was swinging at people as he ran,’ Jobby Nogver, a 17-year-old visiting from Boston, told The New York Times.

Nogver watched as police surrounded the man and fired. ‘I can’t tell you how many shots,’ he said.

Video taken at the scene from witnesses’ cell phone suggested that approximately ten rounds were fired.

Bewildered: Onlookers shouted at the man to do what the police were telling him but he did not seem to listen

Chaos: Times Square is one of New York’s busiest tourist destinations

Busy streets: Witnesses following the unfolding scene down from New York’s Times Square

The dreadlocked man has not been identified yet because he was carrying no identification on him, said police.

Priscilla Rocha, a tourist from Brazil, was visiting Times Square with her husband when they saw the confrontation.

‘I almost had a heart attack,” she told the Times. ‘Everyone started running.’

NYPD Commissioner Paul Browne told MailOnline: ‘A man armed with a knife was pepper sprayed by officers to no effect, advanced on officers, refused to drop his weapon and was shot by police on 7th Avenue between 37th and 38th streets’.

He was taken to Bellevue Hospital while suffering from cardiac arrest.

He was in serious condition for just over an hour before he died from his injuries, police said.

Horror: ‘Omg! Time to go home!! Man in times square with a machete …like 20 cops came out of nowhere with guns drawn! I’m traumatized!!’ said another

Scared: ‘Just saw a guy with a knife, 30 cops and more than 5 police cars running by me at Times Square. What’s up???’ tweeted one woman

Mr Browne added that some officers were being treated for tinnitus, or ringing of the ears, at an area hospital.

A video of the event shows multiple police vehicles surrounding a man on Seventh Avenue before dozens of cops descend on him.

The sound of gunshots can be heard shortly thereafter.

Witnesses were in disbelief; reeling from the dramatic scene that unfolded in front of them.

‘Just saw a dude with a butcher size knife get chased through times square by cops. Apparently, they chased him down and shot him,’ one witness tweeted.

‘Omg! Time to go home!! Man in times square with a machete …like 20 cops came out of nowhere with guns drawn! I’m traumatized!!’ said another.

’20 police officers against 1 person…. Killed him right in the middle of the street,’ said another.

Great fast track way to become instantly famous, or ‘infamous’ (remember to drop the weapon in time though book and film rights can be obtained if not shot to death . . . ). Try the wild west. Or kung fu. Obviously the police are not well trained enough or the appropriate units were not ‘deployed’. Isn’t there a special balaclava wearing unit with personnel on call 24-7 for disarming this sort of occasional agent provocateur? What are we training those commandos or special agents for? We see so many guns disarmed on TV that any knifewielder when met with 20 men does not need a shot fired. Or is this drama to hide the neurotech nano-particles possibly already installed in all NYers if not a statement that neurotech will not be used at least in obvious cases like these, only limited to controlling dissidents and activists instead?

Just 1 highly trained person who could appear in a ‘CIA’ or ‘FBI’ truck to disarm and capture alive (does not require an entire SWAT team). 20 men with guns being unable to capture alive (3 ordinary cops unarmed could do the job, 1 cop who is able to aim at the hand (think 6-shooter carrying country Westerns . . . the cops of the day are as unskilled as hell), how about a fully armoured American Football player . . . or a particularly determined granny with a heavy handbag . . .) feels like that joke about how many people are needed to replace a light bulb. If America not about life and liberty? Theres 1 more life lost and the odds are shameful. Who knows what crimes occured in the background with this guy being a DECOY . . . so if 2000 psychos appeared at various streets, would that mean New York which hires less than 38,000 police would be undefended entirely from all criminals who also can also time themselves to act at the same time?

Maybe criminals could use such decoys to draw the attention of the police while pulling off the crimes elsewhere . . . what about terrorists? If 20,000 terrorists acted all at once, would the whole USA collapse into anarchy? Watch Escape from New York (1981 John Carpenter) . . . hope that the Prez. (whenever if even possible)that sort of scenario happens, likes wearing ‘Wayne’s World’ (1992 Penelope Spheeris) style wigs and getting BJs from Johnny English – oops was that Harry Dean Stanton instead (whats with the Dragonball Character in the background btw . . .) . . . 1997 didn’t turn out quite like expected but hey, if USA picks a fight with enough countries to diminish local enforcement funding resources because wars and parasite defense contractors profiteer and cost too much, we could yet get to see a ‘Wigger’ or a ‘Snakepiss’ for real . . . up to another ‘Escape From‘ film Jack Russel?

Is USA ready for a LGBT President? Or a hetero and straight male President who just likes wearing women’s wigs?

After bikers straddled by topless beauties hit the streets to draw attention to “safe driving” by taking everyone’s eyes off the road, a judge has hit them with a fine. Not for indecent exposure, but for violating Russia’s new protest law.

A video of the event of July 6 shows three women strip down to their g-strings before climbing onto the backs of three-wheelers and taking off. The girls, one of whom was not even wearing a helmet, unfurled yellow banners bearing the words “safe driving” as they made their way to the heart of St. Petersburg.

Once the video went viral and made its way to the press, scandalized local police immediately sought out the bikers for questioning, Fontaka.ru website reports.

Investigators scoured local bike dealerships looking to identify the culprits. A prominent dealer contacted Sergey, one of the bikers who took part in the demo, telling him the trio should stop by and have a talk with the city’s traffic police. They did, expecting to hear something about missing helmets (never mind bras) or moving violations. What came next threw Sergey for a loop.

Following a report from the city police which claimed the bikers’ behavior constituted a violation of public order, the easy riders involved in the topless run were all summoned to appear in Magistrates Court two weeks later (sans their exhibitionist companions). They were strangely charged with taking part in an unsanctioned rally, even though the ride was at best a racy public service announcement.

The judge presiding over the case apparently viewed the topless joyride as an unauthorized demonstration (of female beauty?), fining the trio 10,000 rubles (around $316 dollars) each. Under the amended law on protests, those taking parts in demonstrations where public order is violated but no damage to health or property are registered face fines of up to 20,000 rubles (approximately $632) and 40 hours community service.

After determining that the accused were all upstanding citizens, the judge decided to show leniency, strapping them with the minimum allowable fine.

Besides the fact that a similar topless “protest” went off last year without a hitch (or a charge), the ruling has served to confuse Russians, who are accustomed to biker rallies making bold statements that are rarely political.

And if there is any lesson to learn from this case it might be that it’s okay to hit the streets of Russia without a helmet or even a top, but just be careful not to ask people to drive safely.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Russia’s democracy acid test. Russia slides back into Soviet Era Cold War or rises into something that the USA might have difficulty catching up with. Thats for the judges to carefully decide . . .

Free American (unregistered) August 09, 2012, 03:09 quote

Does this mean that the people of Russia are not allowed to protest or hold demonstrations? I thought Russia was freed from communism? What happened to Glasnost? I cannot even imagine what it would be like to live in such a communist country that would pass laws against protesting or demonstrating anything they don’t like. Wow! Reading this even Makes me more appreciative of my freedom. Thank God I live in the USA~

Residents say up to 40 cars a day visit Stapleford Wood, near Lincoln to either have sex or watch
Condoms, pornography and even underwear has been left at beauty spot
North Kesteven District Council tried to tackle problem with ‘day of action’ at woods

‘Doggers’ who love being watched while having sex are turning a beauty spot into a ‘sleaze park’ say furious villagers.

Residents say up to 40 cars a day visit Stapleford Wood, near Lincoln, with occupants either having frantic sex sessions or gathering round to get thrills from watching.

It has been reported that many of the men who turn up for the sessions are wearing smart business suits and drive expensive cars, while the women are in designer dresses and top-of-the-range shoes.
Sleazy: Residents say up to 40 cars a day visit Stapleford Wood, near Lincoln, with occupants either having frantic sex sessions or gathering round to get thrills from watching

Sleazy: Residents say up to 40 cars a day visit Stapleford Wood, near Lincoln, with occupants either having frantic sex sessions or gathering round to get thrills from watching

They then pick out a partner and either rush into the woods or simply strip off and start having sex in full view, residents say.

They leave behind condoms, pornography and even underwear, to the disgust of locals.

Parents are now worried the sex free-for-all will attract perverts to the area and put their children in danger.

North Kesteven District Council recently tried to tackle the problem with a ‘day of action’ at the woods.

‘It’s sordid. I used to take my granddaughter there but I wouldn’t do that now. You don’t know what you will find, or who you might find.’
Local resident who did not wish to be named

Boulders were placed in parking and turning areas to put off the so-called ‘doggers’ at the Forestry Commission-owned site.

Police patrols have also increased, but locals say the issue has got so bad they now don’t bother to report incidents.

Ray Philips, county councillor for the area, said: ‘Local residents now don’t want to go there. It is really getting out of hand. There is a constant stream of cars.

‘I think the concern is the Forestry Commission don’t seem too concerned about it.’
Hot spot: Villagers say that as well as liaisons between men and women, the beauty spot is also attracting people wanting gay sex (file picture)

Hot spot: Villagers say that as well as liaisons between men and women, the beauty spot is also attracting people wanting gay sex (file picture)

The problem has grown because many dogging websites name Stapleford Wood as a popular place to meet up. The lurid activity is not just at night-time. Drivers meet up even in daylight hours, residents said.

One, who asked not to be named, said: ‘We used to make complaints to the police but there is no point any more. It’s quite intimidating when there are a lot of them. They sit there staring at you.

‘It’s sordid. I used to take my granddaughter there but I wouldn’t do that now. You don’t know what you will find, or who you might find.’

Villagers say that as well as liaisons between men and women, the beauty spot is also attracting people wanting gay sex.

Insp Mike Jones, of Lincolnshire Police, said: ‘We’re having as much success as anyone else in the country in dealing with this problem.’

Meanwhile, Nigel Lowthrop, owner of nearby social enterprise Hill Holt Wood, wants to take over management of the forest.

He said: ‘It’s got worse. It’s horrendous. It puts off a lot of parents and you wouldn’t expect children to go there.’

Richard Darn, a spokesman for the Forestry Commission, said: ‘I think it’s a case of working hard at this but I don’t think there is a magic bullet.

‘No-one can be there 24/7 to patrol a woodland that size.’

The 750-acre wood was purchased from Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1945.

LOXAHATCHEE, Fla. (AP) — Nudist resorts have a reputation for attracting older adults, but one Florida park is trying to change that.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel (http://sunsent.nl/RAS2ZV) reports Sunsport Gardens will hold a weekend bash aimed at attracting nudists ages 18 to 30. The Florida Young Naturist’s Fourth Annual End of Summer Naked Bash is slated to be a celebration of nudity and body acceptance.

Sunsport Gardens principal shareholder Morley Schloss tells the paper the park has been trying to bring in younger members with lower prices, 24-hour hot tubs and Friday night drum circles.

The gathering at the 40-acre Loxahatchee park is expected to gather several hundred young adults. Nudist resorts around the country have been working to attract a younger crowd.
___

These people may not look much now, but they were at the forefront of the 70s hippy and liberty anti-Vietnam war era and still are. Unfortunately they should be running for election to remove all the other old people who are ‘hawks’ or who hate LGBT or refuse to amend laws to leglise and control prices of organic psychedelics at least. This is where the previous generation fail to engage the youth. The laws are not even there to protect things like this.

Look at the number of people in prison for smoking abit of pot or whatever. Then the young people who are abused systematically with the psychiatric establishment etc. for having dissenting views or differing lifestyles. Address these and not be like ‘Madonna’ running off to Malawi but not even addressing the systemic abuses so long as Madonna can enjoy herself and look good while everyone else gets thrown into jail because the laws were not amended by candidates from the ‘cool’ set getting into politics specifically to amend laws! All that money is for nothing, serves no purpose or anyone. Think and act, not teach the young to take things for granted! Open nude zones in EVERY city commensurate with the size of the community.

Try the movie Blink (Michael Apted 1994), scene where an cop/customer strips on the dance floor without any issue (01:41 to 03:33). That may not be best all the time and not everyone can pull this off, but in proper context is tolerable, an arrest would be inappropriate . . . These days tolerance levels are low as hell . . .

You’ve got to hand it to Chelsee Healey because despite what her fashion critics have to say, she is keen to dress however makes her happy.

Celebrating her 24th birthday, last Saturday the former Strictly Come Dancing contestant flashed her bra in a sheer white spotty blouse complete with ruffles as she made her way to dinner.

And continuing to show off her unique style last night she was pictured heading into The Rose Club wearing a pair of revealing black disco shorts.

Showing off again: Chelsee Healey was pictured last night as she headed to The Rose Club in London

Too late now: The petite actress wore a pair of tight disco shorts but was seen trying to cover her bottom as she turned away from photographers

But this time around, Chelsee didn’t appear to want to show off too much and tried to hide her derriere from photographers as she walked into the London hotspot.

She teamed the shorts with a patent pin striped jacket and a black top.

Wearing her hair up in one, the Waterloo Road star completed her look with a black sparkly clutch bag and donned a pair of spiked ankle boots.

Unique style: The 24-year-old teamed the shorts with a patent pin striped jacket

Taking to Twitter to share her excitement about heading to the Marylebone club to celebrate the success of UK rapper Wiley’s first number one solo single Heatwave, she uploaded several posts.

She tweeted: ‘London For @Wiley__ Party!! #number1 can’t wait to see my @leylaloola’

And in another post she wrote: ‘Rose Club… Sounding Kinda Deeeeeeeecent’

Party girl: Chelsee took to her Twitter account to tweet about how much she was looking forward to the night ahead

‘Decent night’: Chelsee uploaded a picture of herself and Wiley to her Twitter page

‘Decent night’: Chelsee uploaded a picture of herself and Wiley to her Twitter page

Known as the King of Grime, Wiley is practically royalty on the UK music scene, so it’s no surprise that his single party was heaving with a guestlist full of big names.

And the young actress’ night got better when she bumped into Wiley, and she wasted no time getting a picture with him which she quickly uploaded to her Twitter page.

Tilting her head to the side and giving her best post as her wrapped his arm around her neck, Chelsee looked delighted to have run into the Rolex rapper.

The caption on the picture read: ‘Me and @Wiley__ deecent night! #HeatWave#number1’

Polka dot potty: On Saturday Chelsee opted for a sheer white spotted blouse with a pair of shorts for a night out in Manchester to celebrate her birthday

Chelsee Healey’s ‘undercrack’ or ‘cheek’

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Dull but helpful demogoguery. Lower half decolletage is not being revealing as neither upper half decolletage is. This like the is the underboob version of standard ‘boob’ cleavage – ‘undercheek’ much like whale tail (butt crack) cleavage is ‘lower half decolletage cleavage’ (New meme! My invention! Undercheek . . . ). Besides the thong form bikini isn’t exactly beaten in skimpiness or less skimpy than this. No big issue, especially for those who aren’t fundo minded! Show abit of ‘undercheek’, and frankly wearing a thong form bikini is only one leotard less from being totally covered up.

THIS response is value added, not like bad law writing. So put people like us in power for 2 terms and see society bloom like society should, not be crippled and oppressed by bold-faced aged term limitless nepotists, fundos and plutocrats! Nudist Zones and risque Clothing Zones as well!

Vanessa and Johnny announced the end of their 14-year relationship earlier this year.

The 39-year-old gave a hint of what was to come in her interview, talking about being in love but finding it was making you ‘unhappy’.

‘When you meet the love of your life, it’s just obvious and natural and easier,’ she said.

‘You keep learning all the time. Sometimes you could be in an unhappy relationship; you are very much in love with someone, but it’s making you unhappy and you think things can change and you can work it out.’

Depp, 49, and Vanessa have two children, Lily-Rose, 13, and Jack, 9.

She and the American star, who never married, had not been seen at a public event together since 2010.

Vanessa did not attend any of the promotional events for recent film Dark Shadows or The Rum Diaries, in which he starred alongside blonde bisexual actress Amber Heard, 26, whom Depp has been romantically linked to.

Love of her life: But after 14 years together Johnny Depp and Vanessa announced their split earlier this year

Vanessa also talks about her rise to fame as a pretty 14-year-old, with her hit Joe le Taxi.

‘I was for sure not prepared for fame when it happened,’ she said. ‘But nobody pushed me to do it. I wanted to sing, to dance, to work.’

Vanessa now divides her time between France and Los Angeles, where her children attend school.

But she says she does not plan on conforming to the American idea of beauty, and will not be having plastic surgery.

‘I don’t work in America, so I don’t feel the pressure.’

And as to looking for a new partner, she says: ‘Well, my type is obviously creative. Creative, with burning eyes and a pretty mouth.’

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Like said before, one iconic movie is what any actor or actress needs. VP was lucky to have got started ahead of most people and should have left the ‘movie’ scene once she reached 20 million (or 5 for more comfort to protect that fragility with) and focused on quality of life, Not burning the candle on both ends to become burnt out at 38. At the ripe old age of 23 (9 years of ‘career’ is more than enough if fragility is to be preserved), retirement and seeking a worthy life partner would have been ideal. The rest of us had no choice, though VP did yet did not cash in the chips early enough and instead got into the ‘jaded’ crowd of overgrown plutocrat actors struggling to no useful end making so many films starring the same person imprinting on the masses the pathos and flaws, poisoning and stagnating rather than rejuvenating and moving society (instead of guarding fragility . . . ) . . . undemocratic!

Frankly casting people and directors represent a hegemony on popular film and culture, the best casting or selection system would be one where ALL or as many citizens worldwide would VOTE for the most suitable person for such and such a role, let the timeframe be a decade or population quorum based, around a number of countries or worldwide depending on the script, and let that single fat paycheck be the last and a limited one that the lucky selected people or person offering themselves selected will get BY the votes of as many would be movie goers as possible, not what one or a a handful of biased (or abusive?) ‘international film house’ producers, casting directors and funders that take advantage of the (poorer, younger and less cultivated set at their most vulnerable) decide. Therein lies the Sudra/caste damning/soul sacrificing dilemma.

So many are not the film or actor that the people wanted, but a handful of dictators taking advantage of the lack of a democratic system in the film industry to work for elite propaganda in too many cases. One does not need decades of film to be remembered, the one-off cult classic is more memorable or well loved than some actors or groupings that dominate the movie scene for decades on end hashing out so many films and homogenizing the film goers into zombies ‘who watched out of having no choice’ in the process, though especially unique films should be featured more than the conventional ‘big budget’ film.

Democracy and citizen involvement in script or cast selections make for good films! Not your handful of film dictators.

Jason Young and Tyrell O’Donnell stole a car and fled police in a 100mph chase across two counties
They smashed into Jackie Stretton’s car, breaking her back and leaving her fighting for her life
Judge Rodger Hayward-Smith is bound by strict sentencing guidelines laid down by the government
He told court: ‘It is awful. I am stuck with it because of what the law says and I can’t abide it’

A judge has launched a stinging attack on the justice system after he was powerless to hand longer sentences to two men who left a young woman crippled in an horrific car crash as they fled from police.

Judge Rodger Hayward-Smith QC, had to sentence prolific offenders Jason Young, 21, and Tyrell O’Donnell, 20, to less than 18 months after they stole a car and fled police in a 100mph chase across two counties, which ended when their Fiat Stilo smashed into Jackie Stretton’s car leaving her severely injured.

Judge Hawyard-Smith, who is bound by strict sentencing guidelines laid down by the government, handed the maximum possible sentences of two years each for aggravated vehicle taking but both terms were automatically reduced by a third due to the men’s guilty pleas.

However, he stunned Chelmsford Crown Court, Essex when he said the pair deserved much longer behind bars.

He said: ‘You will get out of prison and will get your life back but Jackie Stretton will never get over this, physically or mentally.

‘It is absurd – if I just pass sentence and allow credit for your guilty pleas, because I have to – it will not be enough.

‘It is awful. I am stuck with it because of what the law says, and I can’t abide it.

‘Jackie Stretton has suffered a very great deal and both defendants are in their twenties with appalling previous records.

‘You deserve, both of you, to go to prison for a very long time and I greatly regret that I am restricted in what sentence I can give you because of what Parliament has decided.

‘You say you are sorry and I hope that you are because the sentence I have passed is nothing like enough.’

Jail: Jason Young, 21, left, and Tyrell O’Donnell, 20, right, were sentenced to less than 18 months after they stole a car and fled police in a 100mph chase across two counties then crashed into Jackie Stretton’s car

Crash scene: The reckless high-speed chase ended when the pair lost control of the Fiat Stilo and smashed into Jackie Stretton’s VW Beetle leaving her severely injured and clinging to life

Miss Stretton, 25, of Maldon, Essex, suffered ‘appalling injuries’ as she broke her back and suffered bleeding to her brain in the crash and was left clinging to life in hospital.

Her kneecap was also broken and she was airlifted to Queen’s Hospital, Romford, and placed in a drug-induced coma.

Injured: Jackie Stretton suffered ‘appalling injuries’ as she broke her back and suffered bleeding to her brain in the crash

She had completed charity marathons and coast-to-coast adventure races, but will never make a full recovery from the injuries she suffered in the crash in April and she now walks with the aid of a back brace.

Young and O’Donnell, both from Devon, were both sentenced after they admitted charges of aggravated vehicle taking.

The court heard that O’Donnell was arrested at the scene but Young fled and did not turn himself in to police until five days later.

Law graduate Miss Stretton looked on in tears as the two men were sentenced – 18 months for the driver of the stolen car O’Donnell, and 16 months for his passenger Young.

The pair – who both have a long string of motoring offences – were banned from the roads for five years.

Miss Stretton is no longer able to drive, so had to catch the bus from her home to be at court to witness the men who ruined her life being sentenced.

She said: ‘I just feel so relieved that it is over but my life has changed and I won’t get that back.

‘I have been told that I may need my kneecap replaced when I reach 50 and I won’t ever get compensated for that.

‘I love my sports but I have not been able to compete and it has also affected my relationships with people because I have changed since it happened.’

Miss Stretton welcomed the men’s ban from the roads.

She added: ‘I am really happy that they have been disqualified from driving for five years – that is the bit that is hopefully going to make a difference.

‘They have so many previous driving offences – their records went on for pages.’

Richard Stevens, prosecuting, had told the court the men had stolen the Fiat from a caravan park in Suffolk at 5.30am on April 5.
Chelmsford Crown Court

Court: Miss Stretton told Chelmsford Crown Court, pictured, that she is no longer able to drive, so caught the bus from her home to be at court to witness the men who ruined her life being sentenced

The pair headed towards London at incredibly fast speeds – often over 100mph – and at one stage going 80mph in a 30mph residential area.

The car was seen cutting between lanes on the A12 as police followed them.

They finally lost control on a right-hand bend causing a massive crash involving Miss Stretton’s car, a police car and a Porsche on the A414 at Danbury.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Sentence Jason Young and Tyrell O’Donnell to 18 months (times 3 to simulate 24 hours in prison) in a care home for traffic injuries instead. Jailing costs money to the taxpayers and enriches the ‘Prison-BuildingContractor-Supplier Complex’ while unpaid work with injury victims (under the watchful eye and instruction of some chain gang overseers nurses or such, could teach empathy instead, with minimal food allowances and no lodging expenses (Jason and Tyrell can sleep at their homes as usual to save money). Bad judgment! Meaningless, does not address the prisoner’s angst/pathos and costly to the taxpayer!

Guilty: Nigel French was today sentenced to six months in jail for drilling a peephole in the floor above a girls’ shower room

A school caretaker who drilled holes above a changing room to spy on naked girls showering was jailed for six months today.

Nigel French, 51, secretly watched the girls through a peephole after their swimming lessons at a South Wales secondary school.

The married father of two, who claimed he was looking for bats in the upstairs storage room, was found guilty of attempted voyeurism.

French was caught when the deputy headmaster spotted his feet poking out from under a stack of gym mats.

A ceiling tile had been moved to give a ‘better view’ into the cubicle.

Merthyr Crown Court heard French, a caretaker at the school for 21 years, was often seen hanging around the viewing gallery next to the pool.

An investigation discovered eight more holes over the boys’ changing rooms, which had previous years been for the girls.

Prosecutor Suzanne Thomas said: ‘It was likely the holes above the boys changing room were done some years ago.’

French claimed he was lying on the mats waiting for a class to finish before cleaning the pool Pen y Dre High School in Merthyr Tydfil.

In police interview he said: ‘My only offence could be skiving. I went up to the viewing gallery and I laid down facing forward, looking at the side of the pool, waiting for the lesson to finish.

‘I wasn’t spying on pupils in the pool because that would be wrong.’

Mother and father jailed for beating their daughter, 17, for ‘bringing shame on the family’ by having a black boyfriend

The caretaker at first claimed he was looking for bats above the changing rooms.

Three bats had been found dead in the swimming pool area over the past three years.

None had ever been found in the viewing gallery, however, and there was no evidence of bats nesting in the school.
Pen y Dre

Breach of trust: The married father of two and former Scout leader had worked at Pen y Dre High School (pictured) for 21 years

French, of Merthyr Tydfil, will have to register as a sex offender for seven years.

The former Scout leader and regular churchgoer was banned from ever working with children.

Judge Richard Twomlow said: ‘There were girls in the changing room and, although it is not clear whether you saw anybody, that was your intention.

‘The only way you were able to see into the cubicle was because a ceiling tile had been removed.

‘As the caretaker, you inspected that changing room every day and the only conclusion I can make is that it was you, in all likelihood, who removed the ceiling tile.

‘Whoever drilled those holes, this was a very serious breach of trust.

‘No girl who went into that changing room will know whether they were spied on or not. You have demonstrated no remorse.’

Here’s what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.

Sorry but this is not enough – he violated the privacy of lots of vulnerable underage girls in an educational setting and this is all he gets? This does not send out a strong enough message. They guy will prob only serve 2 or 3 months and in seven years it will be as if he’d never done anything. He abused a position of trust and he left all those girls wondering whether he was perving over them. He needs a proper hefty sentence which is heavier because of his repeated denial. Yet the sentencing guidelines state that a non-custodial order is all that is required for this offence – so in that context 6 months is prob all the judge could give. Now how is that right? This type of offence could be a precursor to more serious offences and it should therefore be a point of intervention.It basically says spying on naked underage girls is okay. Yet if he made an image then 2 years min in jail. ie spy on them live because the penalty is lower – now is that right?

– TC, Notts, 07/8/2012 15:04

Sick sick man. Just can’t trust your kids around anyone these days!

– just me…, Melbourne, Australia, 07/8/2012 14:35

PERVERT should never be allowed near children again. They should make sur he never has another opportunity and everyone should remeber his face.

– Bird, US, 07/8/2012 14:33

And yet a man who grew some cannabis for his own use in his own home was given 5 years! Who, out of the two, poses the greatest threat to the general public? This old pervert should have been jailed for a lot longer, he has probably been looking at the girls changing for years, if my daughter had attended that school I would be going absolutely crazy with anger.

The cost to the prison system should according to another article be 20K sterling for 6 months. A caretaker would barely earn the same for 2 years. Which taxpayers want to pay for this? Well those who hate England and want free meal and lodging, do you know how to destroy England now? Peep at some pasty skinned barely matured teens, leave some kiddie porn on a laptop to be intentionally discovered, smash some property in front of the police, hit someone hated and make sure a record or report is made, and England will be backrupt and all the courts clogged up with backlogged cases in no time. At 40K a year, only 1 million offences by ‘hoodlums’ are needed to do another 40 billlion sterling in damage or if we are talking 10 year prison sentence offences 400 billion sterling and collateral insurance damages of 1.2 trillion (assuming damage is 60K sterling worth).

So who’s up to teaching England’s legislators and MPs a lesson, or making a statement loud and clear to the taxpayers on who not to vote? No amount of industry sector earnings can counter the damage system in place to enrich the ‘Prison Supplier-Contractor Complex’. Some of us don’t like destroying the lives of others but since this is what has been given by society, heres returning the favour! Chavs and hoodies, ready to start the ‘War of Independence in England’? Start with the prison system . . . then target the Education-Debt-Financiar Complex (those who are locked out of the jobs market for your politics or what not, teach them what 1 single person can do that will cause 10 free educations for that single free education they refused to GIVE or make tertiary education free with to intentionally indebt young people into debt slavery . . . lets make this square whole!

Disclaimer : This was written with much sarcasm and applies to those who have been sabotaged by society or intentionally bled by unreasonable policies, laws or fines, the ability to differentiate or create reality I leave to the readers . . .

One controversial Miami restaurant is saving on washing up by giving diners the chance to eat sushi directly off the bare bodies of good looking men and women – but you have to pay a whopping $500 for the privilege.

Customers can order up to six feet of sushi and sashimi at the Catalina Hotel & Beach Club’s Kung Fu Kitchen and Sushi – enough to feed 15 hungry diners – and the Japanese cuisine comes strategically placed along the length of the model’s body.

Controversial: One Miami restaurant is giving diners the chance to eat sushi directly off the bare bodies of models, pictured

Revealed: Michael Phelps’ has been dating pretty blonde for six months (and the aspiring model’s not shy in telling everyone about it)
Watch incredible footage of McDonald’s staff battling for three minutes to save the life of a 14-month-old girl who had choked on a chip
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‘You call in advance or pop in and hopefully we have someone that wants to take their clothes off and lie on a table.’

Diners use their chopsticks to eat directly off the ‘human platter’. They can nibble nori rolls off nipples if they choose, in the controversial deal that is being offered until September 30, during Miami’s restaurant month.

Staff: The restaurant’s waiters volunteered to take their clothes off for extra cash

Hygiene: Eating food directly off models was banned in China

The sushi joint has had three naked sushi parties so far, ABC reported.

And Lieberman hasn’t even had to fork out for real models.

‘I have a very good-looking staff,’ he told the TV station. ‘They said, ‘We want the money, and we like to be naked.”

When a bachelorette party requested a male model, they used one of their sushi chefs, ‘a real stud,’ Lieberman said.

The practice of serving food off naked bodies was banned in China in 2005.
Limited time: Catalina Hotel & Beach Club’s Kung Fu Kitchen and Sushi restaurant in Miami, pictured, is offering the special deal until September 30

Great idea?: The bizarre culinary experience was the brainchild of restaurant owner Nathan Lieberman, pictured

But Florida’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation hasn’t got a problem with it as long as the restaurant is being hygienic.

‘Generally speaking, as long as the restaurant is adhering to FDA rules regarding no bare skin contact, it should be in compliance,’ spokesman Sandi Poreda told ABC.

Lieberman said the models are scrubbed ‘like surgeons’ before being decorated.

They have leaves and lettuce covering their private parts and their nipples are covered in plastic – as well as wasabi.

Will that be a C, D, E, or F cup model with your meal? Look up ‘Wakame Sake’ . . . How about ‘Sake Waterboarding’ for tips?

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

The outlet looks quite drab . . . $500? This laziest of jobs is only worth minimum wage multiplied by the number of people eating. Twice as much minimum with a (i) drunk (ii) stoned (take your choice of organic and lead time for the effects to kick in) or (iii) popper/viagra ‘prepped’ model as well instead. At the end of every work shift, most of us would still think they are getting paid for doing nothing. Beauty is the key here (no turning of stomach’s chance), though this niche based (novelty, adult themed, stag or hen parties etc.) on aesthetics is probably best a second job or third job. Perhaps a cosplay element with lingerie or some fetish wear as well? Will give new meaning to the accolade ‘dish’ a new spin. Don’t even get into ‘Guro’, No Chianti and Fava with Liver at this outlet . . .

As a fitness fanatic it is no surprise that Madonna has decided to open up a gymnasium but, she chose some bizarre clothes for the event.

The Like A Prayer singer took time out of her busy world tour schedule to open a Hard Candy fitness club in Moscow, Russia, today.

She may be fighting fit and in peak condition but the 53-year-old was in serious danger of dressing younger than a woman her age should.

She works out! Madonna opted for a strange choice of clothing to officially open her Hard Candy Fitness gym in Moscow, Russia, today

Madonna showed off her toned thighs in a very short black dress that featured lace chest and arms which also revealed her bra.

She accessorised the outfit with a pair of knee-high leather boots, fingerless gloves and some netted stockings.

She said: ‘Exercise is a really big part of my life, everybody knows that. I work out, I’ve been working out all my life dancing, training for my shows.

‘My live shows are extremely physical and if I don’t stay in shape I can’t do them.

‘Rather than going to gyms and complaining about what I don’t like about them I just decided to create my own and that way I can design the perfect gym.’

Witness the fitness: Although she is in great shape the outfit choice was a little revealing for a lady of her age

With her legion of loyal fans waiting outside for her she treated them to a short time of her presence as she waved to them all from the front of the gym.

The fitness club is sized at 3,500 square metres and is walking distance from the Red Square and Kremlin.

It actually opened its doors in December last year and has a contemporary design which features a group fitness studio with dance floor, swimming pool, spa and boxing ring.

Good afternoon: With her legion of loyal fans waiting outside for her she treated them to a short time of her presence

It also features an anti-gravity yoga studio which was something that Madonna was reportedly strongly behind.

The often outspoken artist also weighed in on the three feminist rockers who are currently jailed for performing a protest song against Vladimir Putin.

Speaking about the members of Pussy Riot, she said: ‘Obviously I believe in freedom of speech and I’m against censorship, so I hope that the judge is lenient with them and that they are freed soon.’

Madonna hopes members of Pussy Riot, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Aliokhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich will be released soon

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Run for election change some laws and GTFO of congress yer over-rich smart plutocrat muso. A gym?!? Ok this is better than conical bras or a failed school project in Malawi, but at this level of wealth 0.5 Billion therabouts (twice as rich as Romney), Maddie should be going for the Presidency or at least setting up an airline with private airfields in every major city (perhaps internationally) to allow her fans to circumvent the TSA. Slacker! Don’t ‘hope’, LEAD by example.

Paul Keating urged Australia and the US to recognise the legitimacy of China as a great power in his speech on Monday. Photo: Louie Douvis

Former prime minister Paul Keating has broken with the Rudd-Gillard governments’ close alignment with the US to criticise President Barack Obama’s approach to the relationship with China.

In a speech at the Lowy Institute in Sydney, Mr Keating warned that history showed the US could not expect to win another war on the Asian mainland and should focus more on strategic co-operation with China.

“I have long held the view that the future of Asian stability cannot be cast by a non-Asian power – ­especially by the application of US ­military force,” he said.

He strongly rejected the idea that Australia had no choice but to back US rivalry against a rising China, and declared the US and Australia needed to recognise the legitimacy of the current Chinese government and its prerogatives as a great power.

The speech underlines divisions within both sides of federal politics about how to manage growing tensions between the US and China, particularly as business interests place more weight on relations with fast-growing China over Australia’s traditional security alliance with the US.

It follows the Coalition’s efforts to paper over differences about how to manage investment by Chinese state-owned companies which has seen the National Farmers Federation at odds with some rural backbenchers.

Mr Keating spoke at the launch of The China Choice, a book by strategic analyst Hugh White, which says that the US should share power with China and relinquish its leadership role in Asia to avoid conflict with China.

Mr Keating strongly endorsed ­Professor White’s argument, which has been criticised by other analysts for undermining the value of ­Australia’s long-standing US alliance and caving into pressure from non-democratic China.

Mr Keating would not comment on his apparent difference with the pro-US tilt pursued by prime ministers Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard.

The speech is likely to further undermine the persistent efforts by the current government to position itself as the inheritor of the Hawke-Keating mantle on foreign relations.

“When we Australians were running around North Asia in the early 1990s setting up APEC [Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation] and the APEC Leaders’ Meeting, we were doing it not to become foreign policy busybodies – we were doing it because we saw it all coming,” Mr Keating said in what appeared to be an implied criticism of his successors and the US.

“Why it took the United States until 2011 to make the so-called ‘pivot’ back to Asia; to acknowledge the centrality of Asia in the new strategic settings, is a matter of wonderment.”

He said the globalisation of countries had run ahead of the globalisation of strategy and the US had missed its chance to help shape a new world order around the rise of major developing countries and now faced a long hard slog to adjust.

Mr Keating underlined his different approach to the current government with his sharp criticism of President Obama’s speech to federal Parliament last November in which he reinforced the new US pivot to Asia with the rotation of marines through Darwin for training.

“Even President Obama told us during his visit to our Parliament, that ‘prosperity without freedom is just another form of poverty’,” he said. “That remark placed a heavy discount on the success of the Chinese Communist Party in dragging its community from abject poverty.

“The seemingly perpetual invocation of this human rights mantra attributes no moral value to the scale and quality of the Chinese achievement,” Mr Keating said, in a contrast to the way Mr Rudd’s relationship with the Chinese leadership appeared to wane after he criticised China’s human rights record.

He said Australians should reject the argument that they had no choice over future conflict between the US and China and push both countries towards a more co-operative structure.

“From Australia’s position, a choice is what we do not need – and in a co-operative structure, there would be less need to make one,” he said.

“This is why there is every reason to try to face America up to its changed economic and strategic circumstances, rather than traffic in the pretence that the rise of a state potentially larger than itself will have little strategic consequence for either it or for us.

“I have long held the view that the future of Asian stability cannot be cast by a non-Asian power – especially by the application of US military force.”

He said the American failure in the Vietnam, Korean, Afghanistan and Iraq wars showed the US could not win a war on mainland Asia and should not adopt a policy which could lead to military confrontation with China.

As the China-US rivalry starts to play out within both sides of federal politics, Foreign Minister Bob Carr appears to be emphasising broader links to China after the difficulties during the Rudd government.

Former opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull has led a push in the opposition to accommodate a rising China.

The Australian Financial Review

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Vietnam war took 30 years WITHOUT the Middle East mess in the backgound, and US still lost. So if China actually makes the Vietnamese (which beat the USA in effect) feel nervous (currently Vietnam and China are too economically linked so no likelihood of war), how can US want to take on China WHILE the Middle East mess is not yet finished? Is USA ready for a 300 year fight with ’10 times the size of Vietnam’ China even as the Middle East Mess could take 30 years more to resolve?

USA is stuck in the Middle East for another 30 years at least unless they develop satellite mind control or do ‘something dramatic’, short of carpet bombing everything with non-nuke options in the Middle East. Does USA really need to control the whole world? Don’t forget this is JUST China, Russia is the chess Queen that has not made a move with perhaps North Korea, which is certainly no pawn . . . Keating is making sense here. And the next move will be who gets control of Syria (a pawn possibly out of necessity), NOT how to take out China when even Vietnam would still probably be too much for USA today if USA wanted to conquer Vietnam a second time!

mini-ARTICLE 6.5

Convocation robe a British legacy, must be scrapped: Kalam

Former President of India A P J Abdul Kalam, while delivering the convocation address of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University on Friday, described the convocation robe a British relic.

Earlier this year, Environment minister Jairam Ramesh had refused to wear the convocation robe during a ceremony and had called it a part of British relic. Later in the year, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar had refused to put on the convocation gown at another ceremony.

Though Kalam did not do a Jairam or a Sarkar, and wore the robe during the ceremony, he suggested the convocation robe should be done away with.

“The gown should go. It is British gown. We must have a simple Indian dress instead — an Angavastram or a Lucknow dress, maybe, which is lighter and suitable for all seasons,” said Kalam.

Introducing the concept of Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA) to the students, Kalam encouraged the students of the university to start the project. “ This will provide a hands-on experience to the students in taking up societal missions,” said Kalam.

Before this, Chancellor of the university, Professor U R Rao declared the convocation open. A total of 31 Ph D scholars and 373 post graduate students were given their respective degree certificates at the convocation held for 2007-09 and 2008-10 batches.

Truly pride of culture here. Now think ‘Sunday Best’ and ‘Formal Wear’ and get those Indian equivalents into society as well. Suggest that all ‘big shot’ Indians begin the trend to lead the way in reculturisation of India . . .

NEW DELHI: A minister, known for his radical views, stoked up another controversy at a graduation ceremony today, when he chucked away his convocation robes which he described as “medieval and barbaric”.

Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, chief guest at the Indian Institute of Forest Management Seventh convocation, stunned guests and students, when he removed the colourful flowing maroon robes draped on him, while at the rostrum to deliver his speech.

“I still have not been able to figure out after 60 years of independence why we stick to these barbaric colonial relics.

“Why cannot we have a convocation in simple dress, instead of coming dressed up as medieval vicars and popes. This practice started in 13th century Oxford,” he said, evoking applause from the students.

Further ridiculing the colonial practice, Ramesh, who was at the centre of a controversy over the genetically-modifed brinjal debate in India recently, suggested that students come in normal dress for convocation ceremonies.

“You can come to a convocation in shirt and trousers. Why the robes, and the hat which is worn, only to be thrown in the air, at the end of the ceremony?” he was quoted as saying, by the Times of India.

The 55-year-old Congress minister eventually delivered his speech at the ceremony, in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, wearing the popular Indian “kurta”, his trademark attire.

Lets have India revive a Constitutional Monarchy with representative powers made up of a Ruler’s Collective of extant Maharajas. Then have the media tabloids focus on Indian culture and Indian society or Indian religion, instead of what the white monarchs are doing.

A Chief Minister to be proud of, unlike other parallels in oppressed/fundo countries who shamelessly pretend that apartheid does not exist and instead ask for 750K funerals before on the back of tax payer monies BEFORE ending apartheid first (not that asking for funeral funds is even thinkable . . . ). The UN and Islam do not accept apartheid! Would CM Malik communicate this to the unthinking idiots with equally high posts here in Malaysia?

A stuffed animal on the ground at the Packard Automotive Plant a former car manufacturing factory in Detroit, Michigan (AFP Photo / Getty Images)

With hundreds of thousands having fled Detroit in the last decade alone, the city is turning into a deserted dumping ground for murder victims. And with its budget choked, the Motor City has had to cut back on its police force to boot.

­A report published Thursday by the Associated Press tells of two bodies decomposing in an empty Detroit lot littered with tires and furniture. The teenage boys had been stripped to their underwear, shot, and then left to rot on one of the city’s many abandoned, formerly residential blocks.

They were only the latest in a string of murder victims whose remains lay for days before being discovered. Detroit has become a kind of agglomeration of rural patches contained inside an urban area, where what were once neighborhoods have turned into overgrown fields.

Outsiders – and police – are unlikely to visit the inner wasteland of what some Americans now call the Murder City.

The situation is a result of nearly fifty years of decay, after white residents started making their way to the suburbs in the 1950s. And after a vicious race riot in 1967, their mass relocation picked up in earnest.

Over the next two decades, the city’s black middle class followed, and blocks – sometimes neighborhoods – of empty houses and overgrown lawns are all that remain today.

Tens of thousands of the city’s homes have been falling apart over the years – some collapsing, while others have been demolished.

And now, the deserted parts of town are quickly turning into dumping grounds for bodies – at a rate of about one corpse found every month for the last year. And those are only counting the victims authorities know of.

Seventy-four-year-old Ella Dunn lives about a hundred meters from where 17-year-old Jacob Kudla and 18-year-old Jourdan Bobbish’s bodies were found by a passerby on July 27; they had disappeared in Detroit five days earlier.

Dunn’s is the closest inhabited house from the scene of the crime, as she’s watched nearly all her neighbors leave over the last 24 years.

Today, the neighborhood is used mostly for dumping trash – and whatever else those passing through need to get rid of. A toilet, various furniture items, and several boats can be seen in a nearby parking lot.

“They drive down and push stuff out,” Dunn told AP.

Earlier in July, two decapitated bodies were pulled out of the Detroit River and a canal nearby. City officials say they were shot and dismembered in suburban Allen Park, then brought to a deserted park in Detroit and dropped in the water.

In December, the corpses of two women were found in a car left near an abandoned house. A week later, the charred remains of two other women were discovered in the trunk of another car. Police say all of them were murdered elsewhere, then brought to Detroit for disposal.
In search of solutions – and funding

Right now, there isn’t much the city can do about it. Detroit lacks the money to level its staggering 30,000-plus abandoned houses, and has had to cut the police force’s pay in recent years.

Mayor Dave Bing is pushing a proposal that would use federal dollars to demolish as many of the houses as possible, with the State of Michigan pitching in as well.

And with law enforcement scrambling to keep track of crime, Bing has some unexpected help.

“The city has an annual tradition of burning homes on October 30th in an event called Devil’s Night. The city is so desperate that it can’t keep up with all the arsons,” Nathan Manire, a New York-based artist from Detroit, told RT.

In another possibility, the local government could buy up properties in mostly-deserted neighborhoods, leveling whole blocks in hopes of renewal sometime down the road. But, Dunn says, “I couldn’t move if I wanted to. They don’t want to give you any money for your house.” Dunn’s is one of only three occupied houses in her entire neighborhood.

Bing will need the government’s help if his plan is to succeed. With about 250,000 people having left Detroit since 2000, a city built for 2 million now houses a little more than 700,000 people. One of the results of that is that tax revenue is down, and everyone in town is feeling the effects.

General Motors, one of the largest corporations headquartered in the city, made about $1 billion in revenue between January and March of this year – but due to its former bankrupt status, chances are it won’t have to pay taxes for years to come.
Crime is always one step ahead

­And the city clearly needs a more serious police presence – which it also can’t afford. Officers recently took a 10 per cent reduction in pay.

When officer John Garner joined the Detroit Police Department in 1999, he was only responsible for a 3.6-square-mile area, and would see another officer roughly three times over the course of any given hour. Today, he covers 22 square miles, and bumps into a colleague “maybe once every two hours,” he said.

Garner added, “if we know this, the criminals know this.”

And as cops spend their time trying to keep track of all the major offenses, residents take yet another hit.

Manire said that inner Detroit’s young people “have few options other than to turn to drugs or crime, and many set up shop on abandoned blocks and sell drugs on the corner.” And since the city’s police are spread so thin, he added, “there’s little they can do.”

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Get Kim Schmitz to set up Chaank Heavy Industries in Detriot and build the Cainborg from Robocop 2 (Irvin Kershner 1990) or Death Machine (Stephen Norrington 1994). Will most certainly bring back the work lines (just like OCP Corp’s Chairman said) and for sure lots of Drug Lords or FreeMasons would want immortality as cyborg mecha (or at least soldiers, one can imagine the indentured soldiers paying off 10 lifetimes worth as killer-borgs with brains stuck in those machines) and kickstart the ‘Braincase’ industry . . .

US troops who caused scandal by sleeping with prostitutes ahead of a visit to Colombia by President Barack Obama also allowed sniffer dogs to sleep in hotel beds and defecate on the premises.

US Secret Service to receive ethics training after Colombia prostitution scandal
US Secret Service and military personnel allegedly took as many as 21 women back to their hotel, ahead of Obama’s trip to Cartagena Photo: AFP/GETTY

7:00AM BST 04 Aug 2012

A partially redacted report into April’s incident released Friday by the Pentagon revealed little that was not already known about how 12 soldiers, airmen, marines and sailors had taken prostitutes to their hotel rooms.

The team was in place as part of the security detail for Mr Obama’s visit to the Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia, and their behaviour came to light after nine civilian US Secret Service officers were caught for the same offence.

The report concluded that, while servicemen had breached US military law by consorting with sex workers and in some cases by committing adultery, and had shown bad discipline by drinking, they had not endangered national security.
According to the report, the Cartagena hotel where they were staying, El Caribe, allowed guests to entertain overnight guests – “commonly a prostitute” – and that no Colombian laws appeared to have been broken.

But investigators did receive complaints from local witnesses about the general behavior of the US personnel, including that the dozen suspects had kept “overnight guests” in their rooms after 6am in breach of hotel rules.

“Explosive detection dog handlers were allowing their animals to sleep in hotel beds, soil the linens and urinate and defecate in inappropriate locations on the hotel grounds, leaving the waste,” the report added.

“Unidentified hotel guests, thought to be American, were bothering and propositioning college-age female greeters working at El Caribe with the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” it noted.

April’s scandal was embarrassing to the Obama administration and led to allegations that the servicemen and agents might have compromised national security or the President’s safety by consorting with Colombian women.

The report, however, concluded there was no evidence that the women had ties to criminal drug-smuggling groups or terrorist movements, nor were they victims of human trafficking networks.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

The report concluded that, while servicemen had breached US military law by consorting with sex workers and in some cases by committing adultery

This military law does not make sense. Maybe for department heads and officers but not the rank and file. At most all rank and file who are married could be also be disallowed, but this draconian application could have impact on their performance ESPECIALLY if they are not getting along well with spouses back home. Adultery of course has social implications and could destroy familial relations, spoil visiting military repute, so soldiers/sailors should be required to make sure or otherwise stick to prostitutes only.

ZHENGZHOU – At a time when China’s housing prices are beyond the reach of most prospective homeowners, low-income housing has not received the warm welcome authorities expected..

The audit office of Henan province recently said that over half of the low-rent houses in the province’s six cities remain empty.

The six cities have built 16,000 low-rent housing units, 8,215 of which are empty, or 51.3 percent of the total.

The provincial capital of Zhengzhou began receiving applications for 1,551 public rental housing units last December but has received only 362 applications, according to the local government.

In recent years, central and local governments have been investing in low-income housing to satisfy the needs of low-income families.

The government has vowed to build 36 million affordable housing units during the 2011-2015 period. In 2011, it started construction on 10 million units.

However, supplies of low-income housing seem to have surpassed demand in many places around the country, including the provinces of Guangdong, Hubei and Hebei.

Henan government officials said the unpopularity of low-income housing can be attributed to a lack of supporting facilities and their remote locations.

The Zhujiangrongjing residential area is one of the most unpopular low-income housing complexes in Zhengzhou. The houses are located on the outskirts of the city and residents have to rely on primary schools and clinics in two nearby villages, since there is little transportation linking the residential area with downtown Zhengzhou.

In the Shangdonghuayuan residential area, another low-income housing complex in Zhengzhou, residents said there is only one bus line near the residential area, adding that the neighborhood is noisy and dirty due to the close proximity of construction sites.

Experts said some local governments chose to build the low-income housing in remote areas and sell more appealing locations to real estate developers to boost fiscal revenues.

Zhao Jinjing, vice president of a real estate business association in Henan, said low-income housing built by property developers has been more popular than that built by the government, as the developers build housing according to market needs.

“Therefore, the government should consider marketizing the low-income housing project and adopting some preferential policies, such as reducing taxes, to encourage developers to build more low-income houses,” Zhao said.

The provincial audit office of Henan said there are flaws in the distribution of low-income housing, as some people fabricate credentials in order to qualify for buying or renting the properties.

Experts said the government should make greater efforts to assess local residents’ incomes and current housing conditions before building and distributing low-income housing.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

The poor condition of public housing should be 3 units JOINED to be worth the current price. Also a single unit could be used for free and not cost anything, for China to be truly humane and socialist. Everyone deserves a home in China, for better conditions though they should be required to work towards that. China has enough wealth to give these ‘worst’ units to those who do not have homes, at least for free. Wealth distribution is socialist in nature and rubbish apartments are not worthwhile investments in many ways.

Putin asks that band members not be judged “too harshly” for political performance
The band members went on trial this week on hooliganism charges
“Mother Mary please drive Putin away,” the band screamed inside Christ Savior Cathedral

(CNN) — Russian President Vladimir Putin is asking a court to show leniency for three members of the punk rock band Pussy Riot, who are on trial in Moscow on hooliganism charges.

The Pussy Riot members went on trial Monday, charged after performing a song criticizing Putin in one of Moscow’s grandest cathedrals, Russia’s state news agency reported. The charge carries a potential seven-year sentence.

While Putin criticized their performance, he said Thursday, “Still, I do not think they should be judged too harshly for that,” RIA Novosti reported. He added that he hoped the court makes “the right decision.”

Pussy Riot specializes in sudden, often illegal public performances, including one in Moscow’s Red Square.

The punk prayer was inspired by the women’s anger about the relationship between the Russian government and the Orthodox Church, according to the band’s manager, who is married to one of the suspects.

The Orthodox Church Pope, Patriarch Kyril has been widely reported as saying Putin’s years in power have been a miracle from God.

The band’s behavior in one of Russia’s most sacred cathedrals has outraged many of the country’s faithful.

“This is a disgusting thing to do,” one woman told CNN.

“They should go to jail,” said another. “A year or two. Let them think about their behavior.”

But even some of those who were offended believe the women should not be in jail.

“If necessary, God will punish them,” one man said. “It must be not be cruel punishment.”

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

“Mother Mary please drive Putin away,” the band screamed inside Christ Savior Cathedral does not carry weight in the Duma. Just ignore, no need to even censor. And ‘Mary’ being so ‘motherly and virtuous’ to give birth to a Jesus should talk to Lady Liberty about 2 term limits but nothing else. Pussy Riot makes Russia fun and democratic, youth spirit if anything to blunt that image of icy terrains, fur hat clad soldiers and peasants huddled in ‘X’mas card like log hovels’ with their vodka and livestock . . . . Maybe these girls should get into politics eventually . . . or set up a Church similar structure to perform naked every night . . .

Nice one Putin . . . thats right! Leave the Judiciary much less the President of Russia or Orthodox Pope (there are 3.5 Popes at the moment btw – Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Russian Orthodox, with a 4th ‘Pope’ the Anglican Head Church also the King of England, USA has no Protestant ‘Pope’ . . . (gosh Prince Phillip, didn’t have to defer to ‘Marm’ so much that England would have no King . . . ) . . . out of this! Russia fights super-power nations NOT sensational naked FEMALE punk bands! Even if they had sex in the Church, a ban from all Churches would already be enough!

Name a nudist colony, a nudist zone or nudist stage club after Pussy Riot if Russia wants to show how Human Rights aware or ‘sex positive’ Russia is! Now lets pay attention to what ‘the Western’ and ‘Muslim’ Fronts are up to instead, enough time and media coverage on this sot of nonsense already . . . if 1 million Russians attended a nude concert, the stout of faith would not even bat an eyelid, this Church ‘slip through’ was not even worth covering, a few well fed (double or triple chinned???) nuns could just drag the Pussy Riot girls (some are even married! UGH!!! No offense to MILF-hunters . . . barf . . . lol ) out for an old fashioned spanking and that would have been the end of this farce, not involve Judges and Presidents and Popes (all the King’s men), not even 1st page media (maybe page 3?) . . . just ridiculous and out of proportion shows petty mindedness and brittleness of faith, of Russian society which is supposed to stoic enough to fight bears and want to crush the USA and the whole concept of Capitalism and socialise the plutocracy into wealth distribution . . . how could a little punk band like that frighten super-power Russia so much?

Russian MPs have proposed a ban on civil servants owning property abroad, including securities and bank deposits. The move is backed by the four main Duma factions: United Russia, Fair Russia, Communists and Liberal Democrats.

The bill draft states that all federal and municipal officials (including the President, Prime Minister and members of parliament) and their spouses and children cannot open accounts in overseas banks, or own foreign real estate and securities.

The MPs suggest that violating this regulation should be held criminally responsible and punished with a three-year ban from holding public office, and between 5 and 10 million rubles ($150,000 – $300,000) in fines or up to five years in prison.

An initial draft of the bill also orders civil servants to disclose ownership of foreign property, and sell it off within six months. The law would apply to inherited property and even to individuals leaving state service, effective up to three years post-resignation for both ex-officials and their families.

There are exceptions in the bill for those who need foreign property and bank accounts for work, medical treatment or academic studies.

The authors of the bill explained their initiative by appealing to moral principles: “We suggest that everyone starts with himself – a man must put both his feet here and must demonstrate that it is wrong to keep money in foreign banks, it is wrong to buy securities from foreign companies. This is not moral,” deputy head of the Lower House Constitutional Legislation Committee Vyacheslav Lysakov told business daily Kommersant.

The initiative came a week after two parliamentary factions – United Russia and Fair Russia – submitted a joint proposal that would require state officials to report foreign property on a special website.

One of the authors of the bill, deputy chairman of the Lower House Sergey Zheleznyak, suggested that such a move would be fairer, since a total ban could infringe on basic civil rights. Forcing the hasty sale of foreign property during the current economic crisis could also lead to substantial monetary loss.

Other deputies who opposed the bill say it will only lead to increased secrecy, not transparency.

The parliamentary initiative came when at least two top state officials were criticized for owning foreign assets. The head of the Russia’s top federal law enforcement agency – the Investigative Committee – was criticized by opposition blogger Aleksey Navalny and United Russia MP Aleksandr Khinshteyn for once owning a stake in a Czech law firm.A top opposition figure – Fair Russia MP Gennadiy Gudkov – was accused by the Investigative Committee of owning several companies in Bulgaria.

Russian law forbids state officials from entrepreneurship while on their posts, but does not limit their property rights.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Russian law forbids state officials from entrepreneurship while on their posts (NICE! ), but does not limit their property rights (not so nice . . . perhaps a property number limit based on necessity? The last thing the people need is a civil servant with a 3rd or 10th or more property to ‘hide asset with’ . . . ). As Putin once said, the law makers could ‘GET SERIOUS!’ This looks flawed as hell.

This ban on foreign property though, is a ‘Russian’ style development that the world could learn from. This way a plutocracy will not form within the bureaucracy. Karl Marx would approve. Russia in turn could learn about term limits . . . though Putin’s 3rd term is VERY Russian, but not the good type . . . a spy chief could do no less! Pulling the strings from the background would make Putin that much more fearsome, but being at the forefront diminishes the ‘fear factor’. One cannot glory hog and be a ‘Man in the Shadows’ or ‘Shadow Power Player’ as well at the same time (unless Putin is not the main man and someone pulls Putin’s strings instead . . . sweet . . . ). See below :

Commentator Comments :

On first reading, it sounded like a farce. On second thought, maybe its well and good if Russia wishes to dclare it criminal for Duma members to have assets in their name overseas. On third thought, it may be good intention but impossible to implement. There are too many loopholes to avoid this. One could use a company as a separate entity to own such assets; Even family members’ name with total Power of Attorney to the Duma member can achieve the same. Or money laundered from illicit or corrupt dealings back to Russia. The possibilities are many now that Russia has joined the WTO. Expect unholy partnerships and alliance between businessmen and politicians. The assets will find its way into the politician’s permanent usage or name or possession. No Duma bill will prevent . That is why I say some arguments or bills can descend into absurdity and removed from reality. Good try anyway if sincere. – Retired-auditor (Good Intentions & Reality (unregistered) August 03, 2012, 08:17)

Well, so be it. If it has to be Pakatan Rakyat then let it be Pakatan Rakyat. But it is we the voters who will be deciding which it is going to be. So why can’t we the voters demand what type of government we want? Our votes decide the government so that gives us the right to dictate the type of government that we want. And the type of government has to be a different and better government.

I have lost quite a number of friends and family to cancer over the last 60 years or so. Of late, many more seem to have left this world. Maybe this is because I am coming to 62 so at that age you tend to lose more people you know — which helps remind us that our time is coming up as well so we can consider ourselves as also standing in queue.

Anyway, what I find common to those who suffer from cancer is that most, if not all, do not give up hope. Even if the doctor has diagnosed the cancer as terminal they still harbour the hope that they can beat it somehow. I suppose that is the characteristic of humankind. We never lose hope even when logic tell us there is no longer any hope.

If we hear that a certain herb has been known to help cure the disease, even in cases where the doctor has said otherwise, and there are incidences where people have survived the cancer after taking that herb, much to the surprise of the doctor, we will surely try that herb and hope that the doctor is wrong and that the herb actually does work.

If we hear that a certain holy man in India has helped cure the disease, even in cases where the doctor said there is no chance of survival, and we are told that many people who went to meet the holy man managed to beat the disease, we will certainly make that trip to India in the hope that we are going to be amongst that group that beat the odds.

I have known friends who have travelled to so many places all over the world to seek miracle cures, mainly through spiritual help or ‘faith healing’, in spite of the medical prognosis that says there is no possibility of any cure. Of course, there are stories abound about how people have managed to prove the doctors wrong and that miracle cures or faith healing does work.

Unfortunately, not a single one of my friends managed to beat the odds. In the end they all died, as what the doctors said was going to happen. The miracle cures or faith healing did not work, in spite of the many stories that we hear about how they sometimes work.

I suppose no one likes to be told that they are going to die and that nothing can be done about it. Who likes to go home and just sit around or lie in bed with excruciating pain and count the days till you leave this world? To be told you have two months to live, or at the most six months but not longer than that, is so depressing. It is better that you psyche yourself into believing that there is still some hope you can cheat death by taking some sort of herb or by travelling to India, China, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, etc., to meet a ‘holy man’ who has been known to help cure people whom the doctors said cannot be cured.

It is bad enough you know you are going to die. But to accept the hopelessness of your situation and go without a fight makes the inevitable worse. It is less depressing to believe you have hope and work on that hope by seeking a solution. Who knows, the rumours might be true and the doctors might be wrong and you might be able to find that cure that the doctors said does not exist.

Never take hope away from anyone, especially from someone who is about to die, even if you know it is all false hope. When they excitedly tell you they are going to make a trip to India or China to meet a certain holy man who is said to have helped people beat the odds and managed to prove the doctors wrong, smile and encourage them and tell them that life and death is God’s will and if God wills it then they are going to live and not die in two months or six months or whatever it is that the doctor told them. It is most cruel to tell them, “This is all bullshit and you are going to die in the next few months so just accept that fact and don’t waste time with all this nonsense of miracle cures or faith healing.”

Religion is more or less about hope as well. We all know we are going to die. That is inevitable and unavoidable. The only question is when, how and where. It could be soon or it could be some years into the future. But the day we got born means we are certainly going to die. The only way to avoid death is not to be born. If we are not born then we can cheat death, so to speak.

But we still need hope. We know we have no hope of avoiding death. But we would like to know that death is not final. If death is final then what good is it to be born? Are we born just so that we can die? Isn’t life then totally useless? Why be born just so that we can die? What a total waste of time?

And the hope we harbour would be that death is not final but merely the beginning of a better life, a life after death. We leave this cruel world to go to a better world. What we will enjoy after we leave this world is far better than what we can ever experience in this world. Hence death should actually be rejoiced rather than mourned.

Now, if you tell someone that this is all bullshit, and that once you die it is the end of everything, that person will get very upset with you. He or she does not like to be told that death is final and that there is no better life after death. How can they accept that there is only one life, this life, and no second life, and that once you leave this world you leave forever and do not enter into another world or enjoy a permanent life after death?

This is, again, all about hope. We need to believe that there is still hope even when we die. To be told that there is no longer any hope once we die and that death is final and the end of everything and not the beginning of a second and better life is something most people cannot accept. It makes the entire concept of life totally useless. It makes the acceptance of death very difficult.

Hence if you tell someone that religion is nonsense and that what religion tells you is equally nonsense you will be met with vicious opposition. This is because you are denying these people hope. You are removing the only hope that they have. They know they have no hope of not dying. So they need to replace the hopelessness of their situation with another hope. And that hope is, while you cannot cheat death, death is not final and that life after death is greater than life on this earth.

The same applies to life in Malaysia. We have suffered life in Malaysia under the same government for 55 years. We would like to believe that this is not a hopeless situation. We would like to believe that there is still some hope. And so we hope that the government will change and that the next government will be a better government than the one we currently have.

Then someone comes along and says that this is all bullshit. This person says that there is no hope of changing the government or even if you can change the government life is still going to be the same and there is not going to be any change as you hope there would. You will get angry. And you will get angry because this person is taking away the only hope you have of seeing a better life.

Try telling a person suffering from cancer that the doctor is right and that this so-called holy man in India or China cannot help you live beyond two months and see the reaction. Try telling a person that the Bible or Qur’an is bullshit and that you are eventually going to die and once you die that is final and not the beginning of a new/better life and see the reaction. Try telling someone that all politicians are the same and never mind which government comes to power you are still going to see the same sorry state of affairs and see the reaction.

And this is why many people react the way they do when we point out the shortcomings and weaknesses of the opposition. They are harbouring the hope that a change of government would mean a better life. So when we tell them otherwise we are taking away this hope. They need hope, so they resent it when we take away this hope by telling them there is no hope.

Hope and reality work opposite to one another. The reality is: we are going to die of cancer within the next two months. The hope is: a holy man in a foreign land can help us cheat death. The reality is: once we die that is final and the end of everything. The hope is: death is not final but just the beginning of better things to come. The reality is: many countries change governments but life does not really improve much and sometimes even becomes worse. The hope is: once we kick out Barisan Nasional then Malaysia is going to become paradise on earth.

When I contradict your belief system and tell you to look at reality I am removing all this hope. I know this sounds cruel and denying you hope is just like telling you that you are going to die of cancer in two months — so save your money and don’t bother to fly all over the world to meet holy men — or like telling you that there is no afterlife for you to go to once you die because death is final.

If the doctor tells you that you are suffering from terminal cancer and are going to die in two months time I will not tell you that the doctor is right and that you should not try miracle cures or faith healing. That would be cruel. If you believe that there is a better afterlife where you will be going to once you die I am not going to tell you that this is religious bullshit because you need to believe this to be able to accept death.

In both these situations you need hope because hope is the only thing you have. So I will not take away this hope from you.

But in the issue of changing the government, now that is not a hopeless situation like terminal cancer or death. There is still hope that a change of government can result in a better life. But we need a better government to be able to see a better life. So I will barrage you and the politicians from both sides of the political divide that a change of government per se will not result in a better life. It must be the correct type of government.

I know it is not easy to accept reality. How many people can accept being told that they are going to die in two months time so just accept it and stop all this faith healing nonsense? How many people can accept being told that there is no such thing as an afterlife and once you die you are gone forever so live this only one life that you have while you still have it? And how many people can accept being told that a change of government will not automatically result in a better life unless we get the right type of government?

But someone has to do this job even though the person doing it is going to get cursed. As I said, I will not shatter your hope of beating cancer or of going to a better life after death, but I will certainly shatter your hope that a better life can be achieved through a change of government.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I am not saying we should not change the government. Many of you will interpret this as me saying just that. Yes, change the government by all means. Just make sure we get the right type of government so that our objective of a better life can be met.

In this case, you might say, we only have two choices, Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat. So it is either Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat. And if it is not Barisan Nasional then it has to be Pakatan Rakyat.

Well, so be it. If it has to be Pakatan Rakyat then let it be Pakatan Rakyat. But it is we the voters who will be deciding which it is going to be. So why can’t we the voters demand what type of government we want? Our votes decide the government so that gives us the right to dictate the type of government that we want. And the type of government has to be a different and better government.

Why is it so difficult for some of you to understand this very simple thing? And do I really need to write four pages to put this point across to you?

Yes, in the end this is all about hope. But there is a difference between false hope and hope tempered with reality. I am not selling false hope. I am selling hope tempered with reality. Hence from time to time we need to embark upon a reality check to get us back on track.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Again with the hegelian dialectic. Who says 3rd Force cannot be better than the above 2 coalitions? And don’t confuse state and religion much like politics and health. All of the issues are UNRELATED. Much like RPK tries to inculpate via allegory an inability to separate issues, the very same ability to separate issues can be used to keep one’s health better. When one thinks with the collective one gets the ailments of the collective. When one thinks as an individual, one will only get what one deserves. Collective hive mindedness is convenient but results in all kinds of incompatibilities in the astral and ethereal and this is the very cause of illness. Want to heal up to oneself? Stop parasiting the ideas of the original and be oneself – this is not easy and a luxury but do try or lose individuality.

The more individual one is, the better and healthier because everyone is different and one cannot be another without paying a price somehow. Also individuality is a mark of strength in this day of compromised and homogenised individuality. Pick your meme and stay with that. Faux-Hindu? Faux-Sheik? Greaser? Punk? Suit? Techie? Nerd? Nut? Gravitate to that which is most comfortable, the meme will do the rest WITH LOGIC the overreaching ‘law’. Generally one must learn to think and not follow blindly. Is the law as of now good? Is the MP amending bad laws? Is the MP overreaching 2 term limits to become a cult of personality? Does any democratic person not understand that nepotism destroy democracy? Does any Muslim who is fair minded think dhimmitude of other faiths help? Should hudud even be applied against democratic principles? Does anyone have the right to deny Nudist colonies if activities are in enclosed zones? Organics psychedelic bars? So mind our own business and make sure your lawmakers ensure living as one prefers in assigned spaces appropriate is possible, not drug, not poison and not manipulate into oblivion, and not sequester wealth, not sequester land, or not sequester political power, the country and the world belongs to everyone, so stop bothering who is LGBT or not of what faith or wants to do whatever . . . go against these cardinal rules and suffer the political or even revolutionary consequences. Therein lies one’s right over everyone else.

As for . . . The only way to avoid death is not to be born. . . . – that which one believes will occur to as far as one’s Will has been cultivated. Bubye Monotheists, and good riddance! The rest will doubtless also be treated to what they believe . . .

But not all the potential frogs crossed over in the end. Many did not, basically because they were asking for too much money to cross over. After I broke the story that Hee Yit Fong of Jelapang was paid RM25 million to cross over — the money paid by gambling tycoon Vincent Tan — all the others started demanding that same amount and were no longer prepared to accept less than a million, like what was paid to Badrul Hisham Abdullah of Port Kelang.

“Rafizi to replace Gwo-Burne?” said The Malay Mail, which you can read below. The Malay Mail then goes into a long two-page story about the issue. Actually, it is a very short and simple story. And I certainly support what PKR is trying to do, which is basically frog hunting. PKR is getting rid of the potential frogs.

If you can remember, three years ago, just before Perak fell back in 2009, I revealed that Umno is talking to a few potential frogs, in particular but not confined to those in PKR. Of course, at that time, what I said was pooh-poohed. Over time, though, we began to see the crossovers happen, one-by-one.

But not all the potential frogs crossed over in the end. Many did not, basically because they were asking for too much money to cross over. After I broke the story that Hee Yit Fong of Jelapang was paid RM25 million to cross over — the money paid by gambling tycoon Vincent Tan — all the others started demanding that same amount and were no longer prepared to accept less than a million, like what was paid to Badrul Hisham Abdullah of Port Kelang.

Okay, let us not talk about those who did eventually cross over. We have talked about them enough and you know who these people are — the ‘independent’ and BN-friendly wakil rakyat that includes Hee Yit Fong, Nasarudin Hashim, Jamaluddin Mohd. Radzi, Mohd Osman Jailu, Wee Choo Keong, Zahrain Mohamed Hashim, Ibrahim Ali, Hasan Ali, Zulkilfi Nordin, Badrul Hisham Abdullah, Keshvinder Singh, Fairuz Khairuddin, etc.

Let us instead talk about those who were supposed to have crossed over but eventually did not because Umno refused to pay them what they wanted. And the list of potential frogs that did not eventually cross over because Umno could not meet their price were:

Loh Gwo-Burne (Kelana Jaya)

S. Manikavasagam (Kapar)

Aziz Kadir (Ketereh)

Azan Ismail (Indera Kota)

Lim Soo Nee (Kulim)

Mat Suhaimi Shafiei (Sri Muda)

Amirudin Shari (Batu Caves)

Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid (Kuala Langat)

Rashid Din (Merbok)

Johari Abdul (Sungai Petani)

So, yes, many of these people, plus more, are quietly going to be dumped. Barisan Nasional does not want them because they are demanding too much and neither will Pakatan Rakyat field them in the next general election.

And that is the real reason why Loh Gwo-Burne is being replaced and not as The Malay Mail reported below.

***************************************

Rafizi to replace Gwo-Burne?

(The Malay Mail) – Will PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli contest in the Kelana Jaya parliamentary seat? Although he is tipped to contest in the Pandan parliamentary seat, some representatives of the Selangor government are lobbying for him to stand in Kelana Jaya.

Speculation is rife that Kelana Jaya MP Loh Gwo-Burne has a slim chance of retaining his seat.

According to one leader, Loh was not popular among the residents as he was “inactive” as an MP.

One community leader said he would rather not vote in the election if Loh defended his seat. “The problem is, we don’t see him at all. And he has done nothing so far,” said the resident.

“It is unfortunate because he was given a chance to do something but he has wasted it.”

Professional photographer Nazeerul Haqeem, 24, also said Loh’s presence was lacking in the constituency. “I think (Seri Setia assemblyman) Nik Nazmi (Nik Ahmad) is more of a people person. He has buka puasa events and dinners with residents,” Nazeerul said.

PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar said, however, that Rafizi was already working on building his repertoire in Pandan, a seat firmly held by former MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat for two terms now. “At the moment, Rafizi is working hard in Pandan,” she said.

Asked if Rafizi had a better chance of winning in Kelana Jaya, Nurul Izzah said his recent prosecution under the Banking and Financial Institutions Act 1989 for disclosing banking details on the National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp) scandal may serve to boost his reputation among the voters in Pandan.

“So (Datuk Seri) Ong Tee Keat should be less than confident in retaining his seat,” she said.

Nurul Izzah said the party would decide on the seat allocations “when it is ready”.

Loh was amused when told of the attempts to field Rafizi. “I spoke to Rafizi and he seems to be focused on Pandan,” he said.

However, he admitted that there was much to be done in the constituency, especially with regards to urban poverty, and said he would defend his seat.

“People from the poor areas like Desa Mentari are asking us to stay and help them,” Loh said. “Slums in areas like Glenmarie need a lot of attention.”

He said other major issues such as traffic problems and crime rates were also important but these matters fell under the jurisdiction of the federal government.

“I am not saying the federal government is not doing enough but such matters need at least five to 10 years to be resolved,” he said.

“The public transport system needs to be restructured, car ownership needs to be reduced, and crime rates need the attention of the police force.

“For me, I feel that tackling urban poverty is crucial because it will also stem the increase of crime.”

Meanwhile, Rafizi said although he had to wait for the party’s leadership to decide on the fielding of candidates, he was already preparing to contest in Pandan.

“I think the party’s approach right now is to field national candidates against strong Barisan Nasional (BN) candidates,” he said.

“I really appreciate the calls for me to contest in Kelana Jaya but comparing Kelana Jaya with Pandan, Pandan is the more difficult seat to win for Pakatan Rakyat (PR), so that is why I have to go to Pandan,” he said with a laugh.

Loh was among eight elected representatives from the Pakatan Rakyat allegedly offered a total of RM160 million to leave and become independent representatives. He made this claim at the Selangor state assembly on July 12.

The Pandan constituency has 78,128 voters, comprising 47 per cent Chinese, 45 per cent Malays and six per cent Indians.

Loh’s only claim to fame before 2008 was recording a conversation involving lawyer Datuk V.K. Lingam allegedly interfering in the appointment of judges.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Thats just money, the pleasure of outing the corrupting MP or Minister and denying the MP or Minister power is much better. Also if all the MP’s ratify bills that license many gambling outlets instead of a single monopoly and creating an overgrown corruptor, these problems would not be here today. Most of us probably were not born even when the rubbish mindset or law/constitution that is government was put into place, and most of us need to put an end to this sort of citizen interaction and legislation and law writing, including term limitless MPs who collude or MPs trying to get there merely for power. Takes discipline to identify which MP is worth voting, those that do not respond to an intelligent question or a book full of CLEAN POLITICS to appreciate the local intelligensia with, are UNVOTABLE. But really there are virtually no role models excepting those who walk their own path sufficiently to think clearly and critically enough to initiate 3rd force movements. How about replicating this instead?

ARTICLE 15

Gov’t and party are different: ex-CID chief – Friday, 10 August 2012 08:45

Former Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department chief Fauzi Shaari has laughed off a proposal by prime minister Najib Razak for police to take oath of allegiance to the government. “The police must know how to differentiate between government and party. In voting, it is their right to choose the better party,” he said.

Fauzi, who recently joined PAS, described the call as unnecessary, and said if police treated their job as a religious obligation, they would put in their best efforts in their work.

At a buka puasa event, Najib again invoked his now infamous catchphrase “You help me, I help you” by calling the police to take an oath of loyalty.

“If the government helps PDRM (Malaysia Royal Police Force), then PDRM will help the government and the country. We help each other to bring the country towards a safer, harmonious and excellent future,” Najib was quoted as saying.

The remark drew strong reaction from northern-based Malay empowerment group TERAS who said it was Najib’s hidden instruction to the police to vote for BN.

“So, the oath is not so much about PDRM promising to be loyal to the government but a plea to all top officers to ensure that the votes from lower officers will go to BN,” said TERAS chairman Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid.

PAS Youth information chief Riduan Mohd Nor said Najib’s latest move signified the BN government’s fear of the increasing support for Pakatan Rakyat amid a slew of announcements of former top civil servants joining PAS.

“It has made a big impact to UMNO-BN for the 13th general election,” he added.

-Harakahdaily

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

That is why the military and police, EVEN civil service, should not be allowed to vote and remain neutral or not even be part of the voting numbers equation. See how the police and army have separate from the Rakyat, taxpayer dollarpaid for quarters? That is the trade off and sacrifice the police and army OWE the ordinary Rakyat which does not have the access or benefits or the authority they have. Simply to prevent vested interest.

Imagine if more and more citizens became police and voted for the government AND asked the government to give them more and more goodies out of taxpayer monies? What would happen to the Rakyat? If taken to extreme progression and expression, leads to a police state (Singapore or perhaps WW2 Nazi Germany) and/or a military (Junta) state. That is why ex-Pakistan President Musharaff LEFT the Military, that is also why Musharaff MUST NOT be President, that is why Putin’s 3rd term is not healthy (so far not in a violent manner given the treatment of the ‘Pussy Riot’ issue (perhaps contrived?) by Putin), but who knows what goes on behind the Iron Curtain which is impossible to say exists in some part even though Soviet Union has disbanded.

Meanwhile am with PAS Youth information chief Riduan Mohd Nor on this. PAS once again surpasses on ethics issues (how about slamming PR’s non-PAS top leadership for failing to keep 90% of campaign promises . . . ), BUT STILL Hudud is unjustifible! PAS would be a role model world wide if not an Islamist party. who knows 3rd Force might be able to do the same after all . . . in this case the police faction with this attituide is ‘Ethically Corrupt’ and begins to sound dangerous.

The regular taxpayers and citizens must never want to deprive the uniformed groups of jobs, at the same time they must understand that governments that are into things like Ops Lallang, or false flagging marches and riots that NEVER address apartheid or extreme religion, can very well be complicit in ‘seeding’ criminality via the ‘Prison-BuildingContractor-Prison-Supplier Complex’. The prison could well be a place where persons intentionally goaded into the odd criminal act or few, are introduced and indoctrinated by ‘insiders’ so that they can be released to commit petty crime that justifies MORE police who intentionally will be induced to secure ever larger blocs of votes with ‘Police Families’ being an Oligarchy and eventually democracy destroying Feudalism again.

Politics cannot mix with enforcement either or a non-meritocratic Gestapo will form, in the military’s case, a Junta. We might see 10th generation being given automatic promotions instead of by sheer merit, and favouritism and nepotism etc. will again ruin another pillar of government . . . I believe even the police internally know and do not want this, or those with a sense of ethics or morality would certainly not as well, and would prefer to stay above politics than frightening the Rakyat (this article’s information is mildly chilling against Najib’s ethics) with assent to this sort of ‘bloc vote’ mindset. PDRM should understand that if more police or benefits are needed, this should not be politically motivated. As so many active in the ‘scene’ police and criminals are from opposite sides of the same coin, and this sort of politics harms the pride of the institution of law enforcement no end.

ARTICLE 15.5
When a friend of my friend is my friend – NO HOLDS BARRED – Saturday, 18 August 2012

That was not how things were 50 years ago back in the 1960s. Back then we had a bond. And that bond was worth more than everything in this world. But we have now lost that. And we blame the government for the current sorry state of affairs. But we fail to see that honour and ethics have nothing to do with the government. It is what is inside us. And if we do not have it inside us then we can change the government every year for the next ten years and we will still not have it inside us.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

UMNO is as UMNO does? What **suffocating** and presumptuous language. Heres your establishment pawn Rakyat . . . ethos and pathos, also contrived cleverness in superficial linguistic acrobatics (IKIM does this occasionally) can only take an argument so far, BUT without *LOGOS*, no amount of charisma or twisting and turning can subvert those who work to keep the truth in the clear so the Rakyat can vote properly.

1) But we fail to see that honour and ethics have nothing to do with the government.

This normalizes dishonour and unethical behaviour.

2) It is what is inside us.

Heres RPK trying to remake the whole world in the Islamist mould AGAIN.

3) And if we do not have it inside us . . .

NO. Honourable and ethical law writing is needed. This ‘it inside us’ b.s. is Islamo-speak IMHO. Tricky aren’t them Muslims?

4) . . . then we can change the government every year for the next ten years and we will still not have it inside us.

Governement being changed every year is a moot point and strawman argument intended to distract.

REALLY RPK, you can dance circles around only so many people, disappointing attempt to subvert again! Do rebut otherwise, but an reader can corroborate the amount of nonsense previously posted and we only have an empty shell probably working for emptier shells and the wrong side . . .

Starbucks’ launched their first premium juice bar store in the US this week called Evolution Fresh. — AFP Businesswire
WASHINGTON, March 22— A newly opened juice bar by coffee giant Starbucks in Washington provides a first glimpse into what’s poised to become a major trend, akin to the ubiquitous green and white logo around the world.

After acquiring California-based juice company Evolution Fresh four months ago, the company has wasted no time in setting up their first outlet which opened in Bellevue, Washington this week and will serve freshly-pressed premium juices in addition to healthy snacks and food options.

The experience begins with an interactive wall display featuring digital illustrations of juices and smoothies being made.

Juices are made without the need for heat treatment due to a technology called High Pressure Processing, which Evolution Fresh says retains more of the flavours, vitamins and nutrients of raw fruits and vegetables.

While the premium juices will be available as ready-to-drink bottled beverages, customers will be able to personalise their food orders like wrap sandwiches, salads, soups as well as vegetarian and vegan options.

The Washington store was designed to meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification with locally-sourced, reused and recycled components.

The ready-to-drink bottles will also line grocery store shelves in the US.

The latest venture into premium juice comes following vocal warnings by Starbucks’ sustainability chief who has been sounding the alarm on dwindling coffee supplies due to climate change.

The move is also seen as a big step in the company’s overall strategy to enter the health and wellness sector.

Over time, the company says it plans to expand Evolution Fresh into additional channels.

News that Starbucks will be entering the premium juice market has existing retailers on high alert. US-based Jamba Juice, which sells smoothies and freshly squeezed juices and anti-oxidant ‘shots’, has embarked on an ambitious global expansion that includes locations in Toronto, Canada, South Korea and the Philippines which just opened this month.

All in one restaurants in general could well be less elitist being more inclusive rather than exclusive in specifics only restaurants, though F&B specialising in extreme low prices to control entire markets are also a second type of specialist – they specialise in bringing cheap to the masses banking on large numbers of 99% ters rather than small num,bers of 1% types as in above specialists attempt to do. Both arevalid and each has their own demographic.

;with each additional food type ‘thrown in’ lowering the ‘competitor ethics’ / ‘focus product’ value of the franchise. The best and most focused, largest product chain offered at best prices by any will likely win. The ‘encroach’ and ‘despecialise’ factor will doubtless dampen enthusiasm for Starbucks, and as the franchise grows to include any and everything, the brand will fade into anonymity among a sea of already All-in-1 type franchises which we already know as ‘Mom-n-Pop’ stores that double as cafe/newspaper-magazine stands serving pork, mac-and-cheese (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyF8__fR8PQ) or whatever in dirty ash trays or the toxic yet unbiquituous styrofoam cups foil packages. Say good bye to the franchises unable to respect the unwritten specialist franchise code. Major fail packaged as a major in. Much like when Arnold Schwarzeneggar stopped being the ‘Terminator’ (1984 James Cameron) and became pregnant in ‘Twins’ (Ivan Reitman 1988) or when Noriyuki Morita (d.2005) from The Karate Kid (1984 John G. Avildsen) became a gay waiter in Spy Hard (1996 Rick Friedberg). Not just advertising and media dominance is needed, the REAL stuff 0 consistency and specialisation are needed to stand out!

ARTICLE 2

The Masterchef effect: Chefs see bookings for their restaurants soar up to 400 per cent after guest roles on show – by Liz Thomas – PUBLISHED: 00:04 GMT, 23 March 2012 | UPDATED: 00:04 GMT, 23 March 2012

There may be only one champion on Masterchef but it seems even a guest appearance on the BBC1 prime time show can make you a winner.

Guest chefs, who feature on the show for little more than ten minutes, are seeing bookings for their restaurants soar by as much as 400 per cent.

Branding experts said a cameo appearance on such a prestigious programme is “priceless” advertising.

Winning formula: Chefs who have appeared on BBC1’s hit TV show Masterchef have seen bookings soar by up to 400 per cent

Despite the difficult economic climate it seems a brief cameo is enough to boost business for the chefs that appear.

David Thomson, who is head chef at London’s exclusive Nahm restaurant, saw bookings rise at the venue by 400 per cent in the week he appeared on the show.

He advised contestants on how to cook street food on location in Chang Mai, Thailand.

Benjamin Tish, executive chef at the Salt Yard Group which owns three venues in London, said his restaurants had seen a 100 per cent jump.

Star chef: Australian Michelin starred restaurant owner David Thompson cameoed on the show, featuring his London restaurant Nahm

He appeared on the show in an early task to show contestants how to prepare dishes from his restaurants.

Mr Tish added: ‘The spike [in bookings] was amazing we had literally 500 bookings over about 36 hours, which is absolutely incredible. We are always busy so it means that people are booking further ahead.’

A spokesman for Gordon Ramsay at the Royal Hospital Road said it was fully booked and operating a waiting list of up to three months.

…And in the week he appeared he saw bookings at the venue rise by an astounding 400 per cent

Head chef Clare Smyth, who has three Michelin stars, helped the finalists prepare a three course meal for seven of the world’s best chefs.

Leading brand consultant Paul Hitchens said the power of Masterchef was “priceless” and could have a long term positive effect.

He said: ‘To be endorsed by a BBC family entertainment show which has been running since 1994 is priceless.
Feeling the effect: Clare Smyth, head chef at Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant in London’s Royal Hospital Road, helped the finalists in one episode of the culinary show

Feeling the effect: Clare Smyth, head chef at Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant in London’s Royal Hospital Road, helped the finalists in one episode of the culinary show

‘It is the best kind of publicity as the chef is introduced as an expert in their field and by association endorsed by the BBC.

‘The chef can then use this publicity to promote their restaurant, books and products with the endorsement ‘as seen on TV’.’

Marketing expert Allyson Stewart-Allen added: ‘The general rule-of-thumb is that PR is worth three times paid-for media.’
…The restaurant has since become fully booked and is operating a waiting list of up to three months

Masterchef broadcasts on BBC1 in peak prime time to around 5 million viewers.

To buy a 30 second advert at a similar time on ITV ranges between £59,549 and £ 43,243.

So a ten minute appearance is worth between £865,000 and £1.2 million worth of advertising.

This cameo could then lead to further TV projects, endorsements, and build the chef’s reputation longer term.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

The response-postulation may be wrong, but this response is to warn-prevent kickback/bribery abuse by media monopoly that this sort of article could give to Masterchef and the subsequent culture of bribery that occurs backstage. No hard feelings ‘Masterchef’! Any F&B does not need a Masterchef programme. They only need live cams at all times at all angles monitoring the kitchens counters and staff attitudes. It’s not the reality programmes that are valuable, the transparency and accountability (which cams also can provide) is what the consumers want. So put those inhouse and live stream cams up in your F&B, and the effect will be the same as a ‘Masterchef’ appearance. Also helps if the local government thinks highly of the establishment and features local officials at the places of work. Meanwhile the endorsements and adverts’ income could directly be earned by the F&B instead of going through ‘Masterchef’ and creating a monopoly effect which this article could well be written and paid for the purposes for – mercenary journalism is not unknown dear readers.

ARTICLE 3

Obama disowns De Niro white First Lady joke (AFP) – 21st March 2012

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign distanced itself Tuesday from a joke by Hollywood veteran Robert de Niro about the prospect of a white First Lady returning to the White House.

The reaction came after Republican candidate Newt Gingrich slammed the jest, — made by Democrat-supporting actor De Niro at a fundraising event with Michelle Obama — as “unacceptable.”

“We believe the joke was inappropriate,” said the first lady’s campaign press secretary Olivia Alair after Gingrich’s comments triggered a tide of online argument about the joke.

“Raging Bull” star De Niro made the contested remark as he introduced Michelle Obama at a fundraising event on Monday in New York’s trendy Greenwich Village district.

“Callista Gingrich. Karen Santorum. Ann Romney. Now do you really think our country is ready for a white first lady?” the actor said, referring to the wives of Republican candidates Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney.

“No” yelled one person as the crowd roared, while De Niro added: “Too soon, right?”

The joke played on the ubiquitous discussion four years ago about whether America was ready for its first black president, ahead of Obama’s November 2008 election victory.

But Gingrich — struggling in his campaign to win the Republican nomination to take on Obama in November — took issue at a campaign stop on Tuesday, demanding an apology from the president.

“I do want to say one thing on behalf of both my wife, and on behalf of Karen Santorum and on behalf of Ann Romney, and that is I think Robert De Niro is wrong,” the former House Speaker said on the campaign trail in Louisiana.

“I think the country is ready for a new first lady, and he doesn’t have to describe it in racial terms.” He added: “I call on the president to apologize for him.”

De Niro insisted the comments were a joke.

“My remarks, although spoken with satirical jest, were not meant to offend or embarrass anyone — especially the First Lady,” he said in a comment forwarded by his publicist.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

“My remarks, although spoken with satirical jest, were not meant to offend or embarrass anyone — especially the First Lady,” Look up ‘nepotism’ De Niro, this is also kinda racist. This is not a club or casual setting where satire is normal, the WH and ‘official opinion’ factor counts, if people go around Obama or any officials spouting semi racist, unethical nepotism b.s., USA will lose credibility because a whole lot of angry people in the world are still fuming at USA Mr 185 Million Plutocrat.

Money makes you tough? Well not to the psychos ready to blow themselves and everyone else up. USA is in deep sh1t, technically collapsed from default, too many wars and a bunch of plutocrats sequestering much needed wealth while the country falls apart. Instead of making worthless remarks, how about supporting 300+ 401Ks for veterans who are protecting Hollywood’s candy a$$? Acting and film is NOT real life, and any slips Obama makes here could cost USA far much more than 300+ veterans to support. Nice to be ‘Hollywood Insular’ isn’t it? One wonders how USA even manages to function at all, well actually USA is crumbling from that fatcat 1% (that means you de Niro!) holding all the wealth (especially the liquid asset, not so much the first properties which are overvalued and needed for living in anyway – most housebuyers got cheated, condo dwellers totally conned . . . ) to no good purpose . . .

LONDON (AP) — A judge has sent a cast member of the “Harry Potter” films to prison for taking part in rioting that flared across England last summer.

Judge Simon Carr sentenced Jamie Waylett, who played Hogwarts bully Vincent Crabbe in six of the films, to two years in jail.

Prosecutors said Waylett was part of a small gang that took part in the riots in north London on Aug. 8.

A jury at London’s Wood Green Crown Court found Waylett guilty Tuesday of violent disorder, but acquitted him of another charge of intending to destroy or damage property with a fire bomb he was holding.

The 22-year-old had already admitted handling a bottle of stolen Champagne from a supermarket during the riots.

Waylett has a previous conviction for growing marijuana.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Lets say that the damage caused by the riots could be repaired with a fraction of wealth a single of these ‘actor plutocrats’ have. The riots were caused by unequal wealthdistribution, Waylett was entirely inappropriate in participating – too rich.

Controversial file-sharing website The Pirate Bay has had more than its share of legal troubles over the past few years – investigations, raids, fines. Now the site has come up with a radical new plan: hosting its servers on unmanned flying drones.

­According to TPB’s most recent blog post, being down-to-earth is just not doing it for them anymore. So they are looking to take advantage of advanced technologies like the super-small Raspberry Pi computer, GPS-controlled drones and far-reaching cheap radio equipment.

The plan is to mount the cheap radio devices and computers on drones (“Low Orbit Server Stations”) and launch them high above neutral territory over the ocean.

“With modern radio transmitters we can get over 100Mbps per node up to 50km away. For the proxy system we’re building, that’s more than enough. This way our machines will have to be shut down with aeroplanes in order to shut down the system. A real act of war,” the blog says.

For what it is worth, most of the comments on the blog post are very supportive of this outlandish idea. And it certainly would lend support to TPB’s slogan, “the galaxy’s most resilient system”. The question now is: will they actually be able to pull it off?

Commentator Comments :

salparadise March 21, 2012, 01:02
+15

“With modern radio transmitters we can get over 100Mbps per node up to 50km away. For the proxy system we’re building, that’s more than enough. This way our machines will have to be shut down with aeroplanes in order to shut down the system. A real act of war,” the blog says.

Up to 50km’s away.
Isn’t International water some 200 miles off the coast (where permitting)?
And even if they could get the range it won’t help anyone who lives inland and it doesn’t matter anyhow because the Americans have declared the entire earth a battlefield and so there isn’t any such thing as “International waters” anymore. They’ll declare PB a “terrorist organisation” and shoot the things down.
A.Smith March 21, 2012, 00:46
+20

For decades Pirate Radio broadcasters used old shipping freighters or cargo ships as their base of operations in International Waters.

While it is possible for a goose stepping Zionist agency to move a counter jamming vessel near them to effectively shut them down, the cost would be enormous to any nation doing so on a regular basis. Of course US taxpayers have found the evil Zionists are the biggest parasites on planet earth and the backs of the 99% non-Jew American people.

I have zero doubts the gigantic buildup in the Mormon State of Utah on the new NSA base costing US taxpayers enormous domestic funding which would have repaired hundreds of US public schools, bridges, roads, harbours is intended on focusing on the darknet.

The new US Airforce cyberforce base appears entirely designed to wage endless US/Israeli Wars on Internet Users, creating 1000’s of faux military sock puppet social media accounts to spew propaganda and ensnare US citizens into various sting operations.

Soon privacy minded US citizens will follow what the Mexican Drug Cartels setup across Mexico with their own secure encrypted darknet and communications systems entirely independent of Mexican, US and Corporate forces, powers and eavesdropping taps.

Pirate Bay founders and darknet operators should join with independent nations such as Iran, Russia, India and possible North Korea to secure a satellite transponder to anchor some of their darknet traffic. US/Israel of course would try to jam the uplinks but that could be entirely minimised with uplinks in friendly non-western nations.

If slaves realised their tribute to their Caesar was used to buy a bigger whip to be used on their backs, would they stop paying and work to oppose that evil Zionist corrupted regime? Wake-Up Americans, that is precisely what is happening to YOU. Your tax funds are being used by the Zionist corrupted US Gov. to attack YOU, to wage war on YOU, your family and loved ones.

[[[ *** RESPONSE ** ]]]

Hey Technofreak Plutocrat IDIOTS (that means people like the Megaupload types). At very least build something like Death Machine (1994 Stephen Norrington) so that a Columbine could be pulled off in relative safety . . . if not able to break the world or rain hellfire on those destroying god given autonomy of humanity by druggings or non-consensual implantations psychically etc., or to be productive, use that money to lobby for abolition of Eminent Domain Laws and for granting of Allodial titles and protection of 2nd Amendment laws. Then buy as much land as possible and LIVE a REAL life in the real world and have real entertainments. Those drones can be ‘accidentally’ shot down or fried with EMPs/ELF weapons from weapons satellites you fools. This drone b.s. thing is a waste of time and money, mere nerd-bation.

How about developing and mass producing anti-mind control helmets instead? Those servers are useless if all citizens are electronic brain implanted zombies. FUND candidates to run for election in as many contituencies as possible. Lobby for electrosmong white zones and wiifi free zones. Stop running and start fighting politically. BUY the WH, not buy drones and nerd tech. Wheres the IRL Arm of the resistance? Stop hiding in cyberspace, nutjobs with bad priorities. try the below and create ‘flying’ squads able to detect and remove the implants from all illegally implanted citizens and activists as well as would be politicians taergeted for sabotage. These were intended for epilepsy but are being used as tools of control instead. So rich? So tech inclined? Then get those medicos on your payroll, equip them, and help those abused by the psyche establishment on behalf of big government, fundo religious groups and the Orwellian state.

Getting married at 14 – 9 December 2010 | Save The Children | Posted by Noreen Ariff (exchange/discussion on early marriage)

News that a 22 year old school teacher had got married to a 14 year old girl has caused shockwaves in Malaysia, reverberating around the world. Recall what it was like to be 14 again, and consider if such marriages really can hold water under the law.

I still remember the 14th year of my life vividly. Every day I would wake up early in the morning to catch the morning bus to go to religious school. It lasted for 3 hours every day where afterwards I would go home and get ready to go to normal school ( this of course doesn’t mean that religious school is abnormal, I can’t think of a better description of a day school). Once in school, my friends and I would chat and chat about homework, gossiped about girls that we didn’t like and the latest boy bands that had got our fancy.

This routine continued every day for 5 days a week. Saturdays were for girl-guides and other clubs and as soon as my activities finished, I would catch a bus straight home to watch cartoons and old Malay movies on the then Singaporean Channel 5. Sundays were cartoons, 90210 and homework, lots and lots of homework. In between I would call my best friend, and we would chat and chat to our hearts content. Of course I had to help out with the household chores but let’s leave that out. In short, life was bliss. It had only one purpose: to be a kid.

My body was also changing. I had stopped wearing training bras and began using the real ones. I had gotten my period which was a bit of bother. At 14, I had only the slightest idea about sex. Sex out of wedlock is a no-no in Islam and from the medical books I read, the idea of sex actually grossed me out. I only properly learnt about the human reproduction system at 15, in science class. So at 14, I would say that I was still very awkward and blur. Did I feel and did my mum think that I was an adult just because I had breasts and was menstruating once a month? I don’t think so.

Yes, I wanted to have a boyfriend then, but at 14 marriage was the last thing on my mind. The main focus in life was to do well in school and get into a reputable university so that I can get a high-paying job, buy everything that I ever wanted, travel the world and change it. If my mum wanted to marry me off then, I would have rebelled and ran away from home because in my mind child marriages only exist in third-world countries where women were not educated, where her family had no means to support her and she had to depend on men.

I must have forgotten that Malaysia is a third-world country with third-world mentalities dominating our minds as if we had no other choice. I must have forgotten that not all parents are the same. Not all parents think that 14 year olds are kids, nor understand that having breasts and menstruation do not make these kids adults. Not all parents are patient enough to go through tough teenage years with their kids and encourage them to forget about the opposite sex for a while and stay focused on themselves and their studies.

I must have also forgotten that not all teachers are educators. I must have forgotten that once upon a time our Prophet Muhammad PBUH married Aishah, who was still a child and that is why some Muslims think it’s okay for a kid to get married. I must have forgotten that once a upon a time, Mansor Adabi a teacher of 22 years of age married Natrah, who was then 13 and our grandparents thought nothing of it.

I have forgotten that times may have changed but some minds are still trapped in the Stone Age.

I doubt Prophet Muhammed PBUH would have married Aishah if he was a prophet now and yes, I doubt Mansor Adabi and Natrah would have gotten married. The circumstances would have been different. Primary and secondary education in Malaysia now is free and available to all. Malaysian women have made it to the top echelons of organisations. I am sure these women would not be where they are right now if they had gotten married at 14. (Blesphemy! Lol, jk, but it’s a good thing Noreen is not in the worst of the Muslim world. Noreen’d be strung up and quartered, keel hauled, FGMed or whatever.)

I am appalled that after all these years there are still parents who allow their underage kids to get married and even more when their insanity is entertained by the Syariah Court who consented to these marriages. The country was just shocked by the news of the 11 year old who got married to an old man, we are now faced with news of a celebration of a 14 year old kid who got married to a 23 year old primary school teacher. The kid was quoted as saying “it’s going to be hard to juggle two roles – a student and a wife- but I’m taking it in my stride”.

I am wondering whether she fully understands what she has gotten herself into. Marriage is not about copulating and procreating alone. Everything might be rosy right now but how would she feel in a couple of years, if not months? While her friends woke up to go to school, studying or eyeing on the most good looking guy in school, she has to wake up, get the breakfast ready for her husband and after school, while others went straight to bury themselves in homework and tuition, she has to cook, wash, clean the house before night time where she has to do her wifely duties. How would she cope with pregnancy and morning sickness? She would have to miss school and probably even more after she gave birth. When her friends are burning the midnight oil for PMR and SPM, she is awake at night tending to her babies. What would she decide, if let’s say she got a place at a university that is far away from the place her husband is working. What we she do when she met a lot more men when she grew up? Would she still love her husband or resent him?

Did the Syariah Court, her parents and hubby think of all these? What are the criteria before such a marriage is allowed? Section 8 of the Islamic Family Law (Federal Territories) Act 1984 merely states:

No marriage may be solemnized under this Act where either the man is under the age of eighteen or the woman is under the age of sixteen except where the Syariah Judge has granted his permission in writing in certain circumstances.

By this section alone, there are no guidelines or fixed criteria on what constitutes “certain circumstances”. If there were guidelines, I just hope they are not parents’ consent, ability of the future husband to support and the girl has reached puberty!

Getting married just to stop the couple from any immoral behaviour is the smallest aspect of things; parents should look into the bigger spectrum of life. Perhaps they should start by watching the movie Juno or An Education (haha)! Your 14 year old kid may be getting her periods, with breasts, stopped playing with Barbie dolls and all – but they are still kids. Parents should know that teenage girls are also easily attracted to older men who seem to know the world. If only the girls waited a little longer, they would know that they too can have the world, on their own.

If the parents can’t see the big picture, the husband, who is a 23 year old teacher, should be able to. He after all is supposed to be educated and more level-minded. Having people like him as teachers makes me wonder about the quality of people allowed to be teachers of our future generation?

Teachers are not here just to teach but they are supposed to inspire our kids to reach their fullest potential. Here we have a teacher who got involved with an underage girl and in marrying her, he had coincidentally robbed her of her childhood. Something that he probably had, how would he feel if he got married at 14? Somehow he has no qualms from robbing his wife from hers. How is this teacher going to be a role model to his students in school? What is he going to say to his students, study and get married or enjoy your school life, get a job, be the best in what you do and then settle down? If he truly loved this girl, he would wait.

If the parents were responsible parents, they would have lodged a complaint against this teacher and get him transferred and as far away as possible from their daughter. Their daughter has a right to have her childhood and if Article 5 of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia means more than the right to live and includes the quality of life, then the parents, husband and the Sharia Court have clearly violated one of the most fundamental liberties of the Constitution.

It is a travesty when on the one hand rape with minors is considered statutory rape because they are under the age of consent and on the other marriages with minors are allowed. I am not saying the teacher is a paedophile but if he was, paedophiles should not be punished by allowing them to get married. Section 8 of the Islamic Family Law and any law of its kind should be repealed.

The 14 year old kid should stay a kid, no matter how much she wanted to get married; she is still a kid. There is a saying that childhood is the most beautiful of life’s seasons so do not lose it by rushing to grow up. If the parents and the guy truly loved her, they should encourage her to choose school, study, friends, gossiping with other girls about the best looking guy in their class, choose love and lost and love again, choose university, choose a career, choose independence. Do not choose marriage at the age of 14, do not make that mistake.

Choose life. Marriage at 14 is not a life.

Noreen Ariff loves being single but yes, she would like to get married…someday. She believes that people should only get married when they are mentally, emotionally and financially ready. Her LoyarBurokking here is on her own time, and her own views. They bear no reflection on the organisation she works for.

44 Responses to Getting married at 14

AgreeToDisagree
21 December 2010 – 9:16 am

hi @pointofview

Thanks for the kind word. I don’t like leaving room for misunderstanding by keeping elegantly silent or keeping people misinformed to empower myself, or to cause others to err then blame them, or give others reason to ostracise or abuse them after intentionally causing them to trip up (first hand to the N-th here), and this is the only principled way to communicate.

By being on an even playing field, though ‘stupidos’ could also be propagandists and advocates of authoritarianism via neurolinguistic programming half the time seeking to enrich themselves at the expense of the people.

These mental goons probably seek to propagate acceptance of 3rd world paradigms of tasering, abusive attitudes by counter staff, abuse of citizens by enforcement, shoot-first policy, entrapment, electronic harrassment, alongside other miserable and inhuman methods to enslave and contaminate democratic principles with grey area abuses while their family Oligarchs reserve MP seats and hand down the same MP seats between their children and grandchildren or sometimes partly hidden through cosanguinity (imagine Khairy marrying Nurul or something along those lines or every former PM’s child being a Minister or PM) . . . you get the picture (thats also how UMNO imploded with Pak-Lah-KJ vs. dr.Evil-Mukhriz creating so much resentment that so many disappointed voters ran for Pakatan and the same in Pakatan now causing voters to run for MCLM and KITA or becoming independents).

It is sheer inadequacy that makes these insane people go around spreading rumours or harming others. It is worse when those listening and believing the rumours are induced to act. What kind of justice or reparation can be sought? Those who broke the law should be punished accordingly or at the very least in kind. We have to keep aware and alert the public to such behaviour and seek to prevent continuation of such behaviour via educating the voters on such issues and building awareness for everyone to be wary of the modus operandi of such abusers.

And as we know a large portion of crimes are done by people who know the victim, so don’t be too excited or flattered or frightened by sudden boons or banes in the form of people or gift horses, they are easily inventions of the sick society we live in, right all the way up to the political parties in power.

pointofview
20 December 2010 – 10:32 pm

@ Agreetodisagree

I salute you for the facts that you have mentioned in your earlier comments to date. It is pointless to go into an argument or battle with some stupidos who can’t think out of the box. Anyway, bravo for justifying your points.

@ SiewEng

Yes, she made the right choice for her. A man and a woman or should I say a boy and a girl can meet in any circumstances, there shouldn’t be so much emphasize on the teacher student relationship. How if the cupid’s arrow striked between a doctor (a man) and a patient (a young girl 14 maybe)? Love is blind darling. It’s good if it ends up with marriage rather than other social ill issues. Right?

And as for others who have commented here…. start thinking out of the box. It looks like you guys are the ones living in the primitive world… go figure…

siewchinteo
20 December 2010 – 6:24 pm

at times it is difficult to reconcile how a person who “thinks out of the box” can actually accept hudud law…..or any restrictive law for that matter.

but what do i know – i am 3rd world and supports chopping off the head of anyone who harms a child.

AgreeToDisagree
20 December 2010 – 2:38 pm

No wonder the quality of our legal system is dropping. We have someone ready to deny facts than face them.

1) I understand every word that you have used in your reply . . .

But you lack the EQ or are afraid to absorb it.

2) But I think I speak on behalf of everyone here when I say, they seem to mean nothing when read as a sentence. Lol.

I don’t think so. If you read without thinking or trying to understand what is written that usually ends up bring the case.

3) No such thing as constitutional amendment when the basic structure of the constitution does not envisage the hudud law……ever!

Hudud does not need to exist upon Constitution. It exists in the hearts of the faithful in Islam, and those willing to be punished under it’s auspices. If you are a disciplined Muslim or a non-Muslim, no need to fear Hudud.

I keep walking into rooms full of establishment minded people who are unable to employ either critical or lateral thought. Or who wish to keep their fellow citizens in an easy manipulated state? I will presume you belong to the former category and so the responsibility falls upon to debunk yet again.

Hudud Whipping? A Hudud signatory could call it a BDSM club with no physical contact to remain legal in Islam.

Hudud limb removal as pubnishment? A Hudud signatory could claim it was an association for treatment of body integrity identity disorder (BIID).

If Hudud is applied anywhere consensually under the above, the Federal Parliament have no say. And though it VAINLY claims to have the right to, the claim is absolutely inapplicable and should not even be brazenly misrepresented as being applicable. Dishonesty is a terrible sickness of so-called ‘Democratic Governments’.

QUOTE Journal of Applied Philosophy – “amputations should be morally permissible” on the grounds that people with BIID are not “globally irrational”. UNQUOTE

On this technicality and by the methods above, Hudud could be applied.

IT IS THEIR BODY, SO THEIR RIGHT ANYWAY, not for anyone to deny or legislate. More authoritarianism on your part? The constitution is a guideline that can change with time thats why there are CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS. Given the sorry state of Malysia’s judiciary and political paradigms though these CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS have not been applied.

The right to Hudud punishments is a negative freedom but still a freedom nonetheless. No group of citizens via rule of mob or supposed right of larger numbers, might in numbers has any right to enforce ANYTHING on anyone. That is application of ETHICAL principles to a very difficult issue.

The as you call it, ‘fucking’ constitution. doesn’t work and should be amended but isn’t amended because we have lgislators busy trying to steal taxpayer monies who do not understand that Constitution is a living breathing document that needs to have changes to accomodate the PEOPLE, *NOT* the PEOPLE change to suit it because numerically they are out numbered, by force of arms even!

No one is bound to obey an unconstitutional law and no courts are bound to enforce it. In the context of consensual Hudud vs. an inapplicable Constitution, guess where the Spirit of the Law lies? And that my ethically unaware or lazy minded friend, is the essence of Civilisation as opposed to the attitude of Malicious Compliance or brute force and punishment based on inapplicable words on a piece of paper. Teach a child to think by giving freedom, not hit a child into not thinking or imprison. Of course sheep are easier to herd, so it is easy to see who intends his charges well and who inevitably ends up abusing them.

The principle is the issue of victimlessness of an action and the right to self determinism. If there are spaces that can be made for whatever they wish experience, just you remember that the world and lands on the world belong to EVERYONE not those most numerous, with the most powerful weapons or the loudest voices or the ability to impose fines and jail terms by force of arms. The ethics of civilisation, be aware and apply!

This civilisation, the display of the tolerance of man, for the relatively minor weirdness that constitutes a mere fraction of the LIMITLESS POSSIBILITIES of what we perceive as reality.

Remember Stephen Hawking’s comments on Cthulu? Start thinking out of that box and stop putting people into it because you are too weak minded or LAZY minded. So many narrow minded and authoritarian people around? Making excuses for weak mindedness. Stop being lazy and TEACH responsibility not introduce/impose the Crutches of Authoritarianism on your fellow sentients. In a short while we could very well be having bio-engineered lifeforms ‘Spore’ style and brain transplants to boot alongside all manner of cybernetics. Does this mean a group who can’t wrap their head around these concepts has a right to demand others not be allowed to partake (after extensive ETHICAL testing to ensure no unwanted fallout occurs by any chance of course)?

“The tyranny of the many would be when one body takes over the rights of others, and then exercises its power to change the laws in its favor.” – Voltaire

So don’t tell me Hudud is so shocking. Its really very dull and not something I would chose, *BUT* the principal of the matter is that it’s that person’s choice and to respect God given free will and self determinism, we must at least make space for them to choose their own path. The world belongs to EVERYONE not the ‘majority’ alone. Spirit of Law. No more of this crudity, even against crudity.

For example, look at Section 377B, doesn’t exist in India or England. So why is it maintained here? To be used as a weapon. Every Malaysian who has had oral sex is guilty 377B and should be imprisoned 20 years and whipped. Were government to apply such laws instead of amending them, then we’d all be in prison.

So do you think the Constitution can be applied to Hudud even?

“If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for

people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all.”

– Noam Chomsky

As Anwar was a victim of entrapment, so this trial doesn’t count. When a kangaroo court is in session, another political enemy is made to bite the dust. Again spirit of the law trampled by the judiciary’s negligence to amend, by unconstitutional powers to appoint judges, by abusing where people find most pleasure or necessity (like extreme taxes on vehicles) or inflicting Concessionaire Highways and Vehicular-APs on citizens.

Also, understand what ‘cultural relativism’ and ‘free will’ mean you dimknob! So who’s the dumbshit now? Let the readers decide! Pathos without Logos! And don’t mention the Fed or the Constitution, that would be Ethos without Logos! No logic, means no case.

Ali Davidson
18 December 2010 – 9:41 am

AgreetoDisagree,

You can’t apply Hudud la you dumbshit. It is the Federal Parliament that sanctions the level of punishments for the Syariah courts.

Read your fucking constitution you nimrod!

AgreeToDisagree
18 December 2010 – 2:44 am

@Ali Davidson

“Syariah law in Malaysia is archaic and primitive.”

True. But people who WANT HUDUD even, have a right to live by Hudud. Though imposing any law without consent is also wrong. Hudud is livable if you are very disciplined, but most Muslims can’t really do it. That is PAS’s weak point. If PAS makes Hudud applicable on a signatory basis, with all Muslims still under Syariah Law as well, PAS would be quite strong. You could even say that any PAS Malay is an honest and non-corrupt Malay who is a proper follower of Islam. They need to be apply Hudud in this manner or they will chase Malay voters away.

With Tok Guru’s condemnation of Bumiputraism as APARTHEID and ex-Perlis Mufti Dr Mohd Asri Zainal stating Bumiputra is akin to Zionism amonst others, PAS is quite popular in contemporary Malaysia among the minorities.

On the ethical scorecard, PMBK CEO Datuk Abdul Ariffahmi Abdul Rahman being asked to quit by Tok Guru to prevent conflict of interest sets a precedent probably in the whole of ASEAN, though here and there instances of extreme wealth have surfaced, though not as shocking as in BN.

Casual Analysis of Malaysian parties (International links wise) :

1) PAS is the safest where national security is concerned, other than ties with a mostly neutral German delegation, they look absolutely dedicated to Malaysian sovereignty.

2) DAP, as oligarchic and nepotistic as PAP is colluding with PAP on illegal technological fronts at USA’s behest, USA itself is beholden to the Zionist lobby.

3) PKR has Wolfowitz and others linked to Zionism as well though recent distancing of US from PKR’s ANwar make PKR slightly better for nationl sovereignty though NEPOTISM and OLIGARCHY in PKR however are so serious that MCLM and KITA have been set up to counter that in PKR.

4) The double faced Zionist-APCO link, damns Barisan no end.

Don’t laugh at Syariah or even Hudud Ali Davidson, it’s their choice if they really want it and have not been coerced. Self Determinism also applies in liefstyles like Hudud or those luddite minded Amish Mennonite communities in the USA. It’s a free world, don’t disparage that and even help others fight for their right to SELF DETERMINISM.

Ali Davidson
17 December 2010 – 10:44 pm

Just do away with Syariah law in Malaysia and you’ll have peace and harmony!

Syariah law in Malaysia is archaic and primitive.

I laugh each time I hear about Syariah law in Malaysia.

AgreeToDisagree
16 December 2010 – 3:15 am

That line is abit over the top and loses by itself, but you get the picture lol. But the arguement is won elsewhere in the repartee am very sure.

England is the flunky for going on a 10th Crusade against Saddam for double standards on 2nd Amendment Rights and causing near 500,000 deaths. A holocaust only upped by the Ameri-Indian Natives in USA and Canada and South Americas.

I will indulge your skewed perception on free will and your attempts to turn the public against people trying to ensure open opinion and free mindedness.

What do you mean so by default what you say is not relevant and holds not water? Flunked Logic 101?

Because we advocate self determinism, and children who are psychologically mature or who will come to less harm being married than being jailbait, does not mean we are paedophiles. I personally am more inclined to Borticelli than Loli phenotype though if @pointof view is into the latter, and everyone is consensual to marriage including parents, why should there be an issue?

Marriage and childbirth dignifies the tween or teen (especially if biologocally capable) and transitions her into a woman and MOTHER, not some mentally immatured ingenue long past her biological fertility, that that too is a choice that must remain open to the fairer sex.

Did you think the stork dropped off babies at the orphanage and that only aging women are entitled to adopt and raise children, who are sometimes forcibly placed there via child alienation?

Even male-male homosexual couples are permitted to adopt and raise children, (by the initiative of a certain alter ego I would hope?) why do you seek to forbid young couples in love who chose to become life partners?

During tribal times where all was untamed wilderness, when 2 people matured, they would probably leave the tribe to set up their own family and start ‘experimenting’ much earlier as well. Was there a law then? Then the male would take out his bow and arrow and . . . HUNT animals (OMG someone call PETA! Duh.). (No I wasn’t going to get explicit.)

Then there is the ageism issue, is difference in age any indicator of maturity or a reason to place a barrier to consensual marriage?

NEUTRAL SPACES for thought and living! Autonomy!

Go hurl your stones somewhere else and put those pitchforks and torches to better use, like against an abusive government which far too many have vested interest (perhaps you are one who profits from the proliferation of ‘charities’, orphanages, child services, or child alienation lawsuits? REPENT from doing Satan’s work by speaking for his Satanic social engineering structures and leave us independent citizens alone.)

All religious institutions running as businesses as well had better empty those coffers full of sequesterd funds that never benefit society, PEOPLE ARE SUFFERING, EVEN DYING OUT THERE.

It is YOU who is advised to seek medical help for your lack of logic and attempt at tarring anyone by calling them paedophiles. God knows they’ve made a sacred taboo of freedom to marry alongside religion without more people egging the ‘self serving charitable’ on.

Oneofthesedays
15 December 2010 – 10:28 pm

@pointofview @AgreeToDisagree

Looks like you flunked England too….

You are a couple of pedophile supporters so by default what you say is not relevant and holds no water.

My advice to you is to seek medical help for your sickness.

siew eng
15 December 2010 – 7:49 am

“She probably dont know or understand what she is getting herself into but I think she has made the right choice for her.”

This reminds me of Noor Kumalarasi who said she’d follow even the hadiths that are daif.

How well the teacher taught the student!

pointofview
14 December 2010 – 8:46 am

Oneofthesedays

You must be a joke… math? go figure the world… I didnt flunked my maths or language but making a simple point that if that teacher guy made his decision to marry the 14 year old girl then he should be ready to double up his duties. 14, 24 or 30 the house chores or what you call as maid duties should be shared to build a good marriage. Obviously, you dont have the capacity to understand that.

FarFarAway
14 December 2010 – 1:12 am

Generally, the law of the land (which would have been gazetted normally after discussion, debate and consultations) should be observed.

However, in Msia, there appears to be two sets of law and these need to be streamlined – after a fair discussion/debate/consultations, of course – where a legal minimum age for marriage should be set clearly.

AgreeToDisagree
14 December 2010 – 12:11 am

@Oneofthesedays

“If you can’t tell the diff between 14 and 24 you must have flunked math :)”

You don’t need to know math for wifely duties, to give birth or nurse children. The poorer husband though would require doubling up for cook’s or even maid’s duties though, but the same do not need math either. In fact math is not even needed for housebuilding (the traditional way) or farming crops or mining. Do we need math or even language for that matter? A club and a cave is more important than math.

Oneofthesedays
13 December 2010 – 9:12 pm

pointofview

if you can’t tell the diff between 14 and 24…you must have flunked math 🙂

pointofview
13 December 2010 – 11:43 am

By the way, the age gap between my husband and I is 9 years. We have a beautiful daughther. And I must say that, I’m a happily married woman and I’m enjoying every bits of my life to the fullest with my husband who once was my teacher.

pointofview
13 December 2010 – 11:32 am

I dont understand why this issue of a teacher marrying a student is so provoking to the society. I’m married to my teacher. The difference is that we waited until I finished my studies and got married at the age of 24. See, this girl has made her choice by marrying the teacher at a very young age. We are nobody to judge her or the teacher. She probably dont know or understand what she is getting herself into but I think she has made the right choice for her. I’m not condoning their actions but sometimes when you are ready to get married…just go ahead and get married. If not, the right person to come by will take sometime…or maybe not at all.

As for the parents, I dont think they want to escape from their parental resposibility. They just dont want to see their daugther being unmarried, have sex and get pregnant. So, by marrying her to that guy will ease their worries. Sometimes, when you have daughthers, the right measure should be taken to prevent wrong doings. Just think of it that we are reversing the time to early 40’s, 50’s or 60’s….where women get married at a very young age and build their happy families.

p/s: this is for the writer:

before you loyarburok about others, please do some research and gather your facts and point of views. Just dont hantam people. Anyway, you are single. What do you know about getting married or being married?

Charlie
13 December 2010 – 4:02 am

Speaking as someone who does not live in Malaysia and who has never lived in a majority Muslim community, and therefore probably more removed from the emotions behind the debate, I wasn’t surprised to hear that children of 14 are getting married in Muslim countries (after all, the prophet Mohammed pbuh himself married multiple wives (11) one of whom was betrothed to him at the age of 6 and the marriage was consummated at 10 (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad’s_wive…. In this context, I was relieved that there was not too much of an age gap between the newly married couple (only 8 years) which is a pleasant contrast to the extremes we see in truly undeveloped places like Afghanistan: See this picture of a 40 year old man married to an 11 year old girl that won Unicef Photo of the year http://www.metro.co.uk/news/80298-under-age-marri….

That said, I (and I expect many others in the West) do perceive marriage at such a young age to be a practice of countries less progressive than Malaysia, and I was surprised that there is this “loophole” in Malaysian law that allows the marriageable age of 16 to be broken if sanctioned by a Shariah court. I think it is scary and undesirable that such a court could sanction marriage to girls much younger than 14 if it wanted to. I think there should be a lower age limit on this power. What that age limit should be should be a topic of debate for the Muslim community in Malaysia.

Looking at marriageable ages around the world, the trend is to raise them not to lower them. The trend is also to stop the practice of children getting married. In 2008 Egypt raised the marriageable age from 16 to 18 and also outlawed female circumcision (a barbaric practice which I believe many of my Muslim brothers and sisters in certain countries have tolerated for too long). Even Saudi Arabia and Yemen (among the most prolific for child marriages) are also looking to introduce a minimum marriageable age. Such action is largely in response to outcries at what their indigenous populations saw as morally reprehensible behaviour in a marriage context (e.g. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nujood_Ali).

So, I think that is good news for the world. I am pleased that Malaysia is not having more extreme stories of forced marriages with larger age gaps coming out and I am also pleased that there is a willingness to debate these issues openly. No country is perfect, but through debate, willingness to change and pursuit of principles of fairness we stand a good chance of making our countries better and more harmonious places to live.

AgreeToDisagree
12 December 2010 – 3:14 am

What have you seen at 14? Why can’t you wait?

Well after picking the husband of choice or being picked by a successful suitor, or having an meticulously and astrologically soundly calculated arranged marriage (with someone not too noxious to oneself), the now matured woman (maybe in her late 30s onwards), may still choose to ‘see the world’ after raising her children to adulthood.

Who says a lfestyle has to be linear or binary? Try thinking out of the box, and while saying it is justified by Islam is the lazy way out, I think the Prophet would concur with my entirely secular and logic based views on the matter.

It IS okay for minors to get married. But only after many considerations are to be factored in. Best of luck, and don’t wait too long for ‘true love’, by biological factors, some things are best enjoyed and more viable while young!

Noreen
12 December 2010 – 1:02 am

Hi All,

Thank you all for your comments again. I am happy that my article has generated views both from those who are okay with underage marriages and those who are against it. And so, thank you for your concerns Crystal. I am touched.:-)

Who would have thought that there are people who are okay with underage marriages? Seriously. Again, seriously?!!

I feel compelled to comment again because I do not appreciate being called as someone who back-out from a war and having accused as someone with a perverted, corrupted mind who failed to understand the attributes and teachings of Prophet Muhammad.

The reference to stoneage is a metaphor to a time different from ours and to minds that somehow have not caught up with the 21st century. It wasn’t supposed to be read literally as a prehistoric period where man made tools from stones.

True, I agree that Prophet Muhammad’s marriage to Aishah is an exceptional case but is the teacher like Prophet Muhammad and is the kid like Aishah? Abu Bakar As-Siddiq blessed the marriage between Aishah and Prophet Muhammad because of:

(a) to reinforce friendly relations between him and the Prophet;

(b) to educate and train Aisha so she may served the purposes of Islam; and

(c) to teach her to utilise her capabilities for the sake of Islam.

If (note-IF) the parents’ intentions for approving the marriage were:

(a) to escape from their responsibility as parents; and

(b) to legalise sex between a minor and an adult.

Then, I feel sorry for the girl.Marriage is no child’s play and this was why the last paragraph of my article above was styled in the manner of the last dialogue in the movie Trainspotting. It is to evoke images of choices,empowerment, independence and there is more to life than getting married. See and experience the world first, then decide. What have you seen at 14? Why can’t you wait? True love waits.

To say it is okay for minors to get married because the Prophet did it to me is the same as saying it is okay for parents to kill their kid as a sacrifice to Allah. The same way as Ibrahim almost killed Ismail before being rewarded for his loyalty and faith with a big sheep sent down from the heaven to be slaughtered instead of Ismail. Sacrifice in this modern age has taken into a more in depth meaning if not metaphoric and is more than slaughtering the sacrificial sheep.

Farha’s suggestions to me is a happy compromise and while I respect her views, I still stand with what I have written. To me there is no compromise in underage marriages. It should be banned altogether.

As for the teacher and his newly married child-bride, good luck.I wish you all the best and may you have a blissful marriage.

Have a good weekend everyone.

zenonidenoni
11 December 2010 – 7:33 am

The Prophet Muhammad SAW is a mercy sent by Allah to mankind. His acts and his words were never driven by lust, his wisdom came from Allah through the the teaching of the Angel Jibrail. It is in your perverted mind that think their marriage was by lust, then why not the prophet married 10 young girls, why did he married only one while he can have them all, nobody was going to question the prophet back then. But he did marry only one girl and not making her as his daughter because a stepdaughter in Islam is not allowed to access much of his private life, which in fact, very important to us Muslims to learn about his way of life. The hardness of his life not only felt by him, but also his daughter Fatimah and all of his nine wives. He acted not upon his desire nor lust, but his actions were always guided by Allah. And people would slander him if he took Aisyah r.a. as a stepdaughter. You guys had not read nor study the life of the prophet or other prophets, so you will not have any idea other than what in store of your perverted, corrupted mind.

zenonidenoni
11 December 2010 – 7:17 am

I’m out of this argument. No point arguing anymore. I had made my stand, deliver my message that we should not intervene with the marriage, for fear it may cause them to separate. We should be supportive, not destructive, they are already married with the consent of their parents.

Who are we to decide that playing and going on school trips are good for her. We should grab whatever opportunity to do good deeds and shall not delay it for tomorrow for fear that the chance might go off. We don’t even know what is going to happen the next second, we can only assume. So, please, janganlah bersangka buruk dengan orang lain. Goodbye.

Crystal
11 December 2010 – 5:41 am

Dear Noreen,

Do not be disheartened by some of the comments by your readers. The way most Malaysians reacted to this news, we all know how the majority feels about this. And I very much agree with U-En Eng. This is not about the girl’s rights to get married. The questions really is about whether she is mature enough. I know some 14-year olds who are very mature, but why can’t it wait? If you are so confident about your love, why not wait?

And so many of you are not parents. Neither am I. But I shudder to think that there may be a teacher in my nieces schools who may be flirting and having a relationship with them! Parents are supposed to protect and prevent their children from making mistakes. How can a 14 year old really know what marriage really is and what she has committed herself into? What is the point of “building a family life early so by the age of 40, their children can help and support and build even bigger family.” Why not 20+??

And so many talk about the ‘legal’ aspect of marriage. Sex with a minor is still SEX WITH A MINOR, married or otherwise! MARRIAGE DOES NOT MAKE A KID OLDER! Marriage is not just a “holy union of two souls with god as witness”. It’s a lot of work, work that 14 year olds may not be capable of. Work that is not necessary for a 14 year old. She should be playing and going on school trips and having fun with her friends. How can you say she chose it when she may not even know what the hell she is talking about?

U-En Ng
11 December 2010 – 4:46 am

Do we trust a 14-year-old (or any girl on the basis of her first period, regardless of age) to drive a car? Buy a house? Work in a factory? Get a credit card?

If there is an element of prejudgement in preventing underaged marriage (in that it deprives an individual, regardless of her age, of choice), aren’t we also bound at least to consider that an individual’s capacity for deciding *ought* to be tested by *sufficient maturity*?

farha
10 December 2010 – 11:18 pm

There are pros and cons to marrying at such a young age. In those days (yes, i HAVE to make that comparison), girls marry young but usually because their families have arranged for it…rarely does the girl marry out of their own volition.

Today, if the 14-year-old girl (who recenly is in the press) marry because she want to, to the guy who is right (at that time), feels she’s capable, why not? She have the right to get married…this i don’t deny. However, she also have the right to an education that supports teenage mums.

I think, then, there has to be some kind of guidelines to i)ensure they remain educated; or in worse case scenario, ii)be able to re-join school if she don’t want to attend school for the time being (for whatever reason)

(e.g – how many times can these young mums defer PMR/SPM if they take maternity leave? is there ‘compassionate leave’ for them if they need to attend to sick babies?)

the pervert teacher should be arrested for rape and not be allowed near children unsupervised ever again.-end quote-

wah,so nice of you to accuse someone who you don’t even know. Do you understand that pedophile is a person who had sex (unmarried of course) with a young person. Between a legal husband and wife, you have no jurisdiction for that. And I always think it is nothing wrong to marry early, they are not rob from their childhood, they are building their family life early so by the age of 40, their children can help and support and build even bigger family.

By the way, my gf is a nice beautiful and charming 24-year old lady whom I’m going to marry her if Allah permit when I have enough money.

p/s: A writer should write responsibly.

AgreeToDisagree
10 December 2010 – 6:04 pm

hi @L,

1) ” and as Marina Mahathir had said in her column in The Star, marrying a teenager just for the sake of preventing “social ills” such as pre-marital sex can actually lead to bigger social ills like abuse, lack of education for the female bride therefore lack of her ability to fend for herself and thus have to be entirely dependent on her husband to decide her life for her as per his will…etc.

Not in every case. And with a strong and watchful (DO NOT BE ‘offensively watchful’ – try malicious compliance, for respect for her husband is critical to their marital bliss – warning all so-called feminists to check those attitudes in advance, especially older jealous jilted/unmarried ones) community setting I mention, ‘fending’ will be very unlikely.

As for ‘conveniently saintly’ Marin ‘Evil’ Mahathiru who looks potentially to angle herself via MCLM as Malaysia’s First Female PM, and the spectre of her becoming Malaysia’s First Female PM in true DYNASTY/OLIGARCHY form after her father dr.Evil, is just too horrible to mention. dr.Evil would never face a trial, and the ‘pity my father’ and ‘since I am also PM’ ploy will be all too obvious by then. She would likely to protect her father, whitewash Ops Lallang, or the Vehicular AP system or the APARTHEID or billions worth of ILLEGAL shipping bailouts, closed tenders, free contracts, unpaid and ignored bills and illegal movements of funds for Marina’s brothers Mirzan and Mokhzani.

By vested interests Mirzan is a director of at least eight companies listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange. His private company, Peringkat Prestasi, a large stake in Lion Corp. His Konsortium Perkapalan Bhd, a listed haulage and logistics company, controls almost half of Malaysia’s road freight market. Imagine the number of freely given contracts this guy got!

Mokhazani, ex-UMNO Treasurer, is worth well over a billion, through his vehicle Kenchana Petroleum and much of the undistributed NEP wealth through a network of subsidiaries and proxies. Imagine the number of close tenders this guy got!

Careful of MCLM simply by the association of committee post bearer Marina to her brothers and by extension dr.Evil Mahathir! Blood is thicker than water and in the nepotistic and oligarchic world of blood relations, ALL the Rakyat are but water, so NEVER vote for those who by association attempt to protect those who have harmed Malaysia so much over the past 22 years. I’d drop MCLM for fear that friendships between Haris/RPK and Marina would be a protective last pitch weapon coordinated by the evil Mahathir in the background somehow. To play it safe, I’d advise all voters or current MCLM supporters to look for other options than MCLM or set up as private candidates instead. A 3rd Force is indeed needed but MCLM by blood association to dr.Evil, has too many holes for any cautious voter’s liking.

Citizens, run as private candidates instead if you want a 3rd Force so badly.

2) those who advocate this practice are supporters of a repressive patriarchal system who believe a woman’s purpose in life is to be a good wife and serve the man, who then will have all the rights to determine her life for her. Women are humans too, in case you have not noticed. Women have the right to choose…yes…some may choose marriage. but if at a young age, how sure are we that that choice is a choice made by an uninfluenced mind with a clear and rational idea of what she is committing herself towards.

Not necessarily again. Do you know what joy a child-like mind who has indulged and lived out whimsical decisions can accrue in the years to come? She will always say, I always had my way. And that is part of the magic of having a young bride that you may never know because of your distrust or lack of access of the strong supportive community as I mention.

Such settings are few but should be encouraged, and by this way of upbringing, the next generation of adults would be equally joyful and privileged, to influence society to a happier and freer world. I partook of a different form, (not a child bride) and here I am sharing what I have ‘gained’, though throughout there was much anger at the freedom I always felt and still wish to share.

The gain I mention above is incalculable as opposed to the devastating social engineering occurring this day. Though with caveats as in my earlier comment. Think deeper and in the right setting and conditions, the above culture is a wonder and luxury to behold that while out of reach to most today, should really be extended to all peoples of the world in time to come.

AgreeToDisagree
10 December 2010 – 5:46 pm

hi Noreen :

You said ” My question is why not? Writers write, readers decide.”

True but entirely neglecting the finer point I will now discuss below.

But too many people don’t really know their own mind or have had time to develop the intelligence or linguistic skills to make their own opinions or even develop their personality *shock* – schooling is something I feel should begin AFTER age 35 when a stable core personality has developed.

That is also why the AGEISM issue in uniformed or enforcement recruiting – a very vicious agenda that strips a young individual of the opportunity to develop themselves. Do you think a matured soldier who has lived as a civilian would torture prisoners as in Abu Gharaib? Go to war when the reasons are wrong? Hardly, so the young and vulnerable are being targeted and as an matured person (which I assume you are, note I used the word mature, because old age does not make for maturity) it is a responsibility for the conscientious to prevent such ‘collateral damage’ (in afflicting self determinism or formation of opinion) which I see many writers in many online mags or blogs neglecting to address entirely.

So when you write, you could end up inadvertently subsuming any opinions a reader might have had or that were in formation! Especially the less intelligent ones or those from lower socio-political classes who have been inculpated with ‘approval seeking’ natures.

Perhaps forums should have a rating system or warning (by the Information Ministry – which obviously is a propaganda machine with no sense of right or wrong, save for the political forces currently at sway) on the above matters to better prepare the readers for strong opinions that effectively end up as an imposition of ‘social engeineering’ without ‘informed consent’.

For added responsibility and respect for the free will of others to avoid this problem, such safeguards and considerations must always be met and never trivilised or neglected unless we have an ‘agenda’.

Now I do not know you well enough to judge that you have been tainted by communication with such people but if you are, please drop those guys, even if they pay you a salary to spin, and begin writing CONSCIENTIOUSLY and in a NEUTRAL manner.

As we communicate, more problems are identified and better ways of communication and social development are discovered. I think there are many who would find this exchange on the issue itself and the ‘why not’ you have brought up useful. Also very appreciative on the replies! Some article writers only want to pontificate and never engage or discuss as if theirs was the gospel tructh, others twist your comments via selective moderation, I really appreciate this and our so-called ‘aduns’ should learn to communicate with the Rakyat who voted them in after all.

Nice chatting!

KoE
10 December 2010 – 4:58 pm

I’m surprise that the writer failed to understand that the teachings and the attributes of Prophet Muhammad PBUH are universal and stand correct across the time

Oneofthesedays
10 December 2010 – 4:53 pm

@zenonidenoni

when are you marrying your 14 year-old?

pedophile defender = pedophile

so nothing you have said has any credibility.

the pervert teacher should be arrested for rape and not be allowed near children unsupervised ever again.

L
10 December 2010 – 1:48 pm

i enjoy reading your article. it is refreshing to see how some people in the community have a strong opinion against such a practice.

just because marriage has legalized sex with a minor, it doesn’t mean that it is not paedophilia. that is an extreme view, i am aware of that. but such a view cannot be dismissed altogether.

and as Marina Mahathir had said in her column in The Star, marrying a teenager just for the sake of preventing “social ills” such as pre-marital sex can actually lead to bigger social ills like abuse, lack of education for the female bride therefore lack of her ability to fend for herself and thus have to be entirely dependent on her husband to decide her life for her as per his will…etc.

those who advocate this practice are supporters of a repressive patriarchal system who believe a woman’s purpose in life is to be a good wife and serve the man, who then will have all the rights to determine her life for her. Women are humans too, in case you have not noticed. Women have the right to choose…yes…some may choose marriage. but if at a young age, how sure are we that that choice is a choice made by an uninfluenced mind with a clear and rational idea of what she is committing herself towards. some laws need to be enacted to protect people from their closest people, their love interests, families and even from themselves, in order to adequately protect their rights as a human, deserving of every freedom a human is entitled to.

zenonidenoni
10 December 2010 – 9:54 am

You can’t just declare a war and then back off..

But hey, no need to raise the alarm, I come in peace. And I did not say you insult the Prophet SAW. Only that I read that you talked about stone age in one paragraph, and the next paragraph you continue with a doubt about the Prophet decision if he was here. There is a link of ideas going on.. which I understood you wanted to say that the Prophet lived in the stone age…something like that.

And hey again, I think we should say to the girl to learn to be a good wife, and we should say to the husband, be gentle to your wife and we should say to their families we support you although we differ in our actions and decisions because we know this is not wrong and it has nothing to do with public opinion because this is their private life. Or just say something good and not being “buruk sangka” to other people.

Noreen
10 December 2010 – 7:38 am

Hi All,

Thank you for all your comments. It feels great that this article has evoked many thoughts and opinions. You have made me more inspired because the worst thing about writing is not having any readers at all.

Anyway: –

Dear Zedoninonini,

I am sorry to disappoint you but I am not taking up your challenge. Firstly because I am fully aware of my credibility and credentials when I wrote this. I do not have to prove this to anyone, certainly not to you. Secondly, I do not how you read the article, I did not insult Prophet Mohammad. Thank you for your comments.

Dear Agree to Disagree,

I see your points and if I had not formed any opinion on the issue of underage marriages,I might actually agree with all that you have just said. One point though, when you said “writers should not make opinions on any lifestyle as if it were the only way to live”. My question is why not? Writers write, readers decide.

zenonidenoni
10 December 2010 – 5:45 am

Salam, I am here to defend the Prophet Muhammad SAW although he does not need anyone to defend himself, but I’m doing it because I love him. Therefore O Writer of the Post, I have seven questions to challenge your credibility to have your opinion made public and yet accepted upon this gray issue. What you had wrote will surely applauded by disbelievers who always looking not by the wisdom of the Deen of Haq. Herewith are my questions:

1. Regardless of your marital status, what will you consider a marriage is, a gift from Allah, natural selection or a curse?

2. Have you studied intensively the story of the Prophet Muhammad SAW that you come to a conclusion that he will not get married to Aisyah r.a. if they live in this modern age?

3. You said, “I have forgotten that times may have changed but some minds are still trapped in the Stone Age.” Well, do you believe that there was a period in time called the Stone Age? What do you think when I say that there were the Age of the Prophets and the Age of the Kings and the bones and potteries that were found in the caves that are claimed to be from the Stone Age were just from people who somehow got disconnected from the ancient civilizations and beside that, there will always be foolish people all around these ages to believe that there was a Stone Age?

4. Do you know the teacher, the girl and their parents that you can just ignorantly depict them as the third world people? By the way, what world are you in? The dark matter world?

5. Can I blame you and other people that are with the same tune as your opinion in this matter if the marriage mentioned above fail? Why? Maybe because you are not being supportive to them and that make them in a state of under public pressure and scrutiny.

6. Don’t you agree that by marrying early enable the girl to learn and master the art of being a good and pious wife earlier than you do?

7. Why do you think the Prophet married Aisyah r.a. at her tender age?

P/s: Somebody posted this thread on a forum I used to follow (Darksiderg.com, under the column Banana Republic)

QUOTE

i just dont think its right to follow the preachings of someone who has sex with nine year old girls or takes his sons wife for his self because god told him to after he seen her naked.

(2) the education and work route which most middle class types are forced to because they have no choice.

But nobody should have any lifestyle forced upon them or promoted as the only lifestyle as well. If future hubby is too poor to hire a maid (no more cleaning), a cook (no preperation of breakfast or meals) or a child minder (no more looking after of kids) or even a wet nurse (no more feeding, though most mothers probably would), then look at your family stature and decide if he is suitable for you. The above ‘chores’ should not be presented as a set of DEMANDS of marriage but are as optional as the young brides’ preference. Some might ENJOY the tasks and even refuse to let the hired help do the work. It’s not unknown and the sheer domesticity of ‘chores’ is the basis of happy marriages, depending on the personality of those being considered!

Affairs of the heart can always be fulfilled at any age, once biologically capable and with INFORMED CONSENT and knowledge of parents and community. Attachment to a husband is something that varies greatly between women, so early marriage is just another option and adds diversity to viable lifestyles that deserves the support of society as well.

Meanwhile the government could have a preparatory syllabus drawn up for young brides, and make sure the local Wanita branch of whatever party locally, is always watching over and constantly in communication with any young wives to make sure no abuses occur. This should make sure that all husbands (stop with the AGEISM which is no better than RACISM, old age is the breakdown of a body nothing else) treats young wives well and instills a sense of responsibility as well.

Writers should not make opinions on any lifestyle as if it were the only way to live. In truth, some girls would be very happy and fulfilled as a mother early in life, while others would not. So a study of the personality of the would-be bride should be done by parents on both sides and NEUTRAL matured people/professionals who do not advocate either life style as gospel truth the way this writer does.

Light demogoguery by Ms Ariff? She has chosen a path that she prefers or was swept into. The least the writer can do is to let others choose their own way of living without any pushing in any direction. That is the nature of free will and self determinism. Let all choose who to love, and when to marry, preferably after the above social checks and balances and opinion feedbacks have been made.

Steven
10 December 2010 – 12:16 am

Would statutory rape for minor below 16 years apply if the husband has sex with his so call wife.

Serious Shepherd
10 December 2010 – 12:09 am

Set of law A says:

-Killing foetuses is legal

-Adultery is legal if you and your partner are above 18 years old

-If one of the partners is under 18 then it is a statutory rape, even it is done through marriage

-If both are under 18 and commit adultery, then has to come out with something like Romeo and Juliet laws (let’s say both are 16)

If a community already adopts set of law B then there is no need for set of law A to be imposed on them. It’s like doing moral policing to a certain community who later complains on ‘imposing their moral values on others’.

anak_perelih
9 December 2010 – 6:01 pm

many 14 years old girls nowadays are having sex with their boyfriends… not a surprise…

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Not meaning to be critical but try this lullaby :

Hush, little baby, don’t say a word, Mama’s gonna buy you a mockingbird. (What does a baby need a mockingbird for? How about mixing with fellow babies at a crech?)And if that mockingbird don’t sing, Mama’s gonna buy you a diamond ring. (Guess this is not ‘Career Woman’ Noreen’s bag? And yes thats really too early . . . )
etc. ends with :

And if that horse and cart fall down, Well you’ll still be the sweetest baby in town. (Horse and cart? Try singing about teats, cribs and bibs first ‘Mama’. ‘Mama’ in this song increasingly feels like a ‘Replicant’ from ‘Bladerunner’ (Ridley Scott 1982) not knowing or confounded by the difference between Tortoises and Turtles . . .

So guess what, the rest of the song here continues ‘gifting’ things that aren’t very useful to a baby or a child and ends with . . . still be the sweetest baby in town . . . OMG the ‘Psycho’ scenario! The whole song appears to be geared towards not wanting baby to grow up or leave (horse and cart fall down . . . )?

Guess mothers even of that day were THAT clingy and selfish or didn’t know what a child liked. A mockingbird?!? Really? Does that come in a cage? How about something more cheerful and boisterous like so many songbirds in the wild which are free? And WHY must that dog be pre-named ‘Rover’? Baby or child might want to name their dog themselves, who knows baby or child prefers cats or no pets at all?

Good intentions without consultation of the receipient or consideration of the recipient’s preferences make for meaningless pontificative communication . . . Sigh, this lullaby is depressing and smothering – promise rewards for being quiet when QUESTIONING and DEBATING – AMENDING/APPENDING (to) FLAWED CONSTITUTIONS and BAD LAWS! So Noreen, how could anyone try to ‘imprint’ an article upon the readers like this much like the above lullaby does – imagine the negative subliminal effects such ‘lullabies’ might have on the subconscious! Freedom of choice is best and THAT covers APOSTASY and choice of sexuality, something Malaysia does not have. Noreen, taking away choice to get married young is no different than being forced to marry, and in this day and age, people love to stand out, no surprise that when everyone is studying those individualists who want to stand out will purposely get married and become mothers! You’re raining on an individualist Noreen, even as you yourself have become ‘Pro-Establishment’ (. . . probably, though perhaps I am too hopeful . . . ) without knowing so.

How about running for election on the below 3 items as an independent Noreen?

distribute unused land to the homeless (socialism but would you rather have 1% plutocrats with an angry 99% homeless, debt ridden, becoming gangs of thieves/robbers, or NGO ralliers running around, or distribute and aloow them to slowly build their homes into castles, contentedly smoking weed or poppy sap, chewing coca they grew in their own backyard for free and eating food they grew themselves?). Malaysia is a land of plenty, we do not need taxes, illegal immigrants being given free citizenships out of sheer racism or religiosity, and fees every step of the way right down to the apartheid and extreme religion. This is just step 1.

When the above all happens, then will new things appear for humanity – at least in Malaysia. If we can’t even do the above 3 for a start much less what I just listed, at least don’t try to ‘Lowest Common Denominatorise’ or ‘Streamline into Conformity’ individuals that have the strength to go against the mainstream.

An 18-year-old girl has been arrested on child pornography charges for selling nude pictures of herself online.

The girl, an 18-year-old unemployed resident of Saitama, was arrested on charges of selling child pornography after she sold nude pictures of herself to men online using an Internet bulletin board.

Reportedly, from December of 2009 to April of 2010 she took a number of pictures of herself naked with her cellphone, in one case selling 33 to a pair of patrons for ¥12,000.

She identified customer bank accounts, allowing police to identify 147 customers who paid her a total of ¥1,070,000 ($12,000). It is not clear whether police will be pursuing charges against them.

She admits the charges, saying she used the money to pay her rent and food bills as she had left home.

18-year-olds, though still technically minors under Japanese law, are perfectly legal to portray pornographically in Japan – although unconfirmed, observers think the most likely explanation for her arrest is that some of the photographs were of her when she was still 17, though naturally this hardly constitutes “child pornography” in the eyes of most.

The arrest has proven contentious amongst Japanese – some have denounced it as a typical abuse of a bad law in order to terrorise minors into chastity, whilst others express disgust at police and mass media which insist on calling an 18-year-old a “shoujo” instead of a young woman. None can identify a victim involved in the crime.

Ironically, she would not have faced any charges had she just had sex with the men for money, or sold them her pantsu, even if she was a minor at the time – Japanese police never take legal action against “child” prostitutes, except apparently when they happen to take pictures of themselves.

Even more ironically, in most parts of Japan a schoolgirl can be procured for much less than the patrons mentioned paid for a few dirty snaps…

Innocent-Guilty Questionaire Factors (Yes/No questions determine what charges can be brought on. treat each question as a Juror).

*Abstract Factors
1) Who initiated the first move (threw the first punch)? Was this ‘serial’ / ‘habitual’ in nature or due to ‘natural feelings of ‘love’?
2) Was act Consensual-Non-Coercive / Bribe-Pressure Induced (Did victim feel taken advantage of? Perpetrator’s view of advantage taking form could be created.)
3) Was the victim psychologically mature and intellectually capable of understanding relationships, has studied the subject sufficiently to make informed decisions? Psychological maturity could be tested to determine age for right to consent regardless of age.
4) Cultural norm/practice justification?

In this Sankaku example, factors 1, 2, 3 can be discounted. Factor 4 is debatable to a 50/50 degree.

*Material Factors
1) Onset of puberty another determining factor (Increases right based on uncontrollable chemical/mating instinct?)
2) Physical maturity another determining factor (Increases right based on ‘can carry to term with no significant risk to victim’ as in life threatening Caesarians being required as opposed to having capacity for natural birth, regardless of pregnancy or non-pregnancy after the act)
3) Is the victim a financial dependent? (Debatable : Financial dependent allowed/disallowed regardless of maturity AND if underage OR pre-pubescent may not be allowed to consent regardless of psychological maturity? Further – Can the law demand that Parental consent is required without trampling on self determinism and creating uproar among religious demographic? Is fiscal and statuary age based control of right of sexual association unconstitutional? (Leads to child labour laws AND psychological maturity issues / Application to pornograpy and media?)

In this Sankaku example, all 3 Factors can be discounted.

Verdict : 0.5 out of 7. Not guilty. Free her now with reparations pls., her ‘legal system unaffirmed’ human rights are being trampled on.

ARTICLE 3

NOW, even 6-year-old girls say they want to be ‘SEXY’ – Friday, 20 July 2012 18:22

Today in bleeeeeeeeuuuuuurrrrrrrrrgh, a new study in the journal Sex Roles suggests that girls as young as six years old are concerned with appearing “sexy.” As in, sexually attractive. To other people. With their bodies. In public. At the risk of getting all preachy about “the children,” I’d like to invite you all to join me in a rousing chorus of, “Holy shit!!! The chiiiiildreeeeeeen!!!”

Now, obviously “sexiness” doesn’t really mean anything to little kids, as much as they think they understand it. If my collection of wide-leg pants, head-bandannas, maroon clogs, and polyester potato sacks is any indication, I definitely didn’t get a handle on sexiness until I was like…24. At least. 25, maybe. Do I even know now? Whatever. I didn’t know what it was or how to do it, but I knew that I wanted it—because, in the grand scheme of things, the girls that had “it” were the girls that got what they wanted. Sexiness is the source of our power, society says. It’s what makes you a girl. So only, like, a baby snail in a coma would be naive enough to imagine that that attitude wouldn’t trickle down to the children. Kids are sponges. Which means that now kids are sexy sponges. Bleurgh.

Researchers presented 6- to 9-year-old girls with a series of paired paper dolls: one doll in a “sexy” outfit and the other in a trendy but full-coverage outfit.

Using a different set of dolls for each question, the researchers then asked each girl to choose the doll that: looked like herself, looked how she wanted to look, was the popular girl in school, she wanted to play with.

Across-the-board, girls chose the “sexy” doll most often. The results were significant in two categories: 68 percent of the girls said the doll looked how she wanted to look, and 72 percent said she was more popular than the non-sexy doll.

Girls who played sports chose the non-sexualized doll more often. Girls who both watched a lot of TV and had mothers with “self-objectifying tendencies” were more likely to choose the sexy doll. But on the flipside, girls who watched a lot of TV but received “maternal instruction during media viewing” (i.e. smart, attentive moms who made sure to call bullshit on bullshit) were somewhat more protected from self-sexualization. Media-consuming girls with religious mothers were similarly non-sexualized. However, perhaps most interestingly:

Girls who didn’t consume a lot of media but who had religious mothers were much more likely to say they wanted to look like the sexy doll. “This pattern of results may reflect a case of ‘forbidden fruit’ or reactance, whereby young girls who are overprotected from the perceived ills of media by highly religious parents … begin to idealize the forbidden due to their underexposure,” the authors wrote…”low media consumption is not a silver bullet” against early self-sexualization in girls.

And that gets directly to the heart of my feelings about this whole creep-show. The knee-jerk response is to blame Katy Perry, and Sydney Bristow, and Bratz dolls, and brokeback lady heroes. There’s no comic book lady-lawyer with a bionic briefcase whose superpower is competence and whose costume is a sensible pantsuit. That doesn’t exist. And that particular cultural flaw certainly doesn’t help little girls prioritize brains over butts. But it’s still just an intermediate symptom, not the cause.

Here’s the cause: Exactly one jillion years ago (historical accuracy courtesy of Lindy West, Lady Anthropologist), some genius decided that the human body was shameful. Especially the female human body. And the disgusting, shameful human body needed to be cloaked at all times, or else DOOM. Certain religious people (see above) are especially excited about this idea. Except simultaneously, some other genius decided that the female body is a precious, possessable commodity that can be sold and traded and hoarded like big floppy flesh-bucks. So that creates this crazy taboo where everyone is clamoring to see naked female bodies all the time, but they feel weird and guilty about it, which makes them mad at females who show their bodies too much, but also makes everyone worship females who show their bodies just enough (but also kind of hate them at the same time). And then women hate other women with “better” bodies, and little kids get the message that they’d better have the “right” kind of body and display it in the “right” way, or they’re screwed. It’s waaaaay more complicated than that, of course, but my point is that our entire relationship with human bodies is FUCKED.

There’s nothing objectively shameful about a body, which means there’s nothing objectively shameful about those outfits on the “sexy” paper dolls. (You never hear some badger mom complaining to Mole-ry Povich that her litter “dresses too sexy,” because that is just some weird shit that humans made up.) A “slutty” outfit is nothing but a different configuration of fabric. But because of the aforementioned taboo, and the commodification of the female body, and the way that certain religious folks combine those two things in the most fucked up and oppressive way possible, bodies mean everything. And 6-year-old girls internalize that and wind up “wanting” things that they don’t even understand: things that (supposedly) telegraph sexual desirability, things that (they think) will bolster their tiny ailing self-esteems. Things like, if this study is any indication, some shitty pleather bustier from the bargain bin at Lover’s Package.

And then we blame…pleather? Nope, sorry, this is our mess. You can froth about Barbies and shame Katy Perry all you want, religious mothers, but remember: you made Katy Perry.

-=jezebel.com

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Narrow minded display. That article is only true of a a certain demographic though the article itself creates bias in the readers who are not particularly familiar with or generally applying of critical thought, the voices mentioned above may be loud or even a majority but why should anyone care? There is also the set that wants to be in diapers and be breast fed by their mothers up to their tweens or worse, until ‘Psycho’ (1960 Alfred Hitchcock) scenarios occur but even that is their right though the murder was illegal and undesirable ( unless that was somehow subconsciously desired by Norman’s old mother). Other mothers sleep around, give birth and do not care about who does the adoption. Yet others collect as many orphans as they can to appear ‘cool’ and ‘kind’ while dripping evil on all other counts. This kids and sexiness thing is probably another fringe group who have parents that allow or foster or hacve been involved (gasp!) in this. Must be aware that generations ago, showing an ankle or even the neck was ‘sexy’. So who made the writer Ayatollah? People INCLUDING children will choose their preferences and regret the same or not later. Thats what being an individual is all about not biological age, though consent and free will of the child must be considered (i.e the child may want to continue family behaviour even if negative or may opt out the key issue is if the child has be taught to decide if said child wants to or not of said child’s free will).

The writer sounds really old and narrow minded here. There will always be burkha wearers even as there will be nudists. Or psychedelic organics smokers and those who avoid the same people and substances like plague. MINORITY OF ONE is a human right. It’s just that freedom of expression now FOR CHILDREN is much stronger than ever. Humanity is evolving even as fashionably outdated type memes will most certainly endure. Why rain on some kid’s ‘sexiness parade’? When people attempt to normalise anything or when everyone is a clone THEN that is more fightening. By sheer value in diversity, anyone should feel happy this is being expressed, though there should also be a open ended manual for children to study and be tested from, and discussion on what could or could not happen rather than NON-CONSENSUAL imprinting by parents, religions or society in a manner that subsumes a child’s free will which is what the 1st World and modern society or the ‘Minority of One’ concept (which is almost never practiced in law) is all about rather than the child’s own natural inclinations which must also be differentiated from stronger minds manipulating from the background in a form of ‘psychic dictatorship or ]’psychic subversion’ much like cults of personality that can demand all followers suicide and the group actually does that.

I.e. for a further example of free will – sex predators, which again some kids could actually want to ‘tame’ (or who knows HEAL with . . . , let your imagination run wild but this response at least comes from a Borticelli bod type lover . . . ), YES the fearlessness of the young is something that could change a sex predator brought up in older, less free willed times, the interactions are boundless – (and here we have ‘@jezebel’, yeah right – whats so ‘jezebel’ about snarking at kids wanting to be sexy? There will be some happy endings, some weird situations not too healthy, some though less – happy and even plain abusive where we must really step in but hardly on the above ‘want to be sexy’ example) – but in the history of mankind, probably most instances were not reported because internet media was not present. Stop nitpicking or being a control freak unless a particularly unpleasant incident happens. A below 10 kid loses their virginity. So? In some cases the kid themself might not even care and grow up into a career woman or get married as a mother without the psychosis that plagues those who come from strict prison-like chastity belt wearing convents or where parents beat children with belts and canes, or where even a slap or vicious scoldings could turn a child into some kind of hateful boss that enjoys bullying subordinates, or that loves to sabotage society by writing bad laws or even refusing to amend bad laws!

The frequency of ‘strange’ events like ‘kids wanting to be sexy’ is not increasing, more likely, we are just aware of the events because of new media and that society has chosen to live and let live rather than scream and spaz out in terror becuse these are not the values they are used to. Much like Burkha wearers and women forbidden to drive. They have a new voice and dare to express. So shaddup @jezebel, this dangerous potentially retaliatory, demogogue rousing musing bores the hell out of everyone. Ask around I’m very sure there are some who regret what not, but also some who would do eveything all over again, the point was to live for the moment, and the physical shell of the moment is but a reflection of commitment to reality beyond the physical, which is why some these youth appear so feckless – there is nothing left out there except values and religions that threaten to leave one’s souls even emptier, little wonder they run straight into to subculture or even BDSM lot!

So yes if somehow things work out in some strange way, we the responsible adults (who do not demogogue) MUST let them as private individuals do what they want. Some may even choose suicide victim or abuser, but the soul knows when and why, and we cannot presume to act on or manipulate on any other soul’s behalf as if we had none of our own and wanted to interfere in any other’s spiritual evolution. This is not pleasant or safe to say, BUT – if a victim gettting raped or a rapist getting away is part of that in some twisted manner, so that some sick pedophile gets a soul of their own (a soul for a rape event is WELL WORTH, and the attacker could go on to great things if we do not destroy them and they humannise fast enough to empathise with the victim etc..) or prevents the next Anti-Pope from being born, who knows what we could be causing if we prevented or pre-empted something else. Nature’s paths are many, and the mass killer who randomly kills Columbine style, could very well be killing some person who might give birth to someone who studies well as a nice scientist who ends up developing virulent poisons for some souless ‘Weyland-Yutani’ (refer to Aliens 1989 – Ridley Scott) type GMO/Genesplicing-toting corporation, or develops mind control technology that vicious minded dictators will destroy the free will of man with, or even brings black plague to the American continent etc.. . . . in the past? WHO ARE ANY TO DARE BLOCK FATE?

Here’s one mass murder that could have averted a Red Alert ‘Yuri’ (2001 EA Games) scenario where the world ends with all Humanity wiped out by mind control. Imagine if the below Holmes character got together with Biopolis Neuroscience Singapore and developed mind control technology that was inserted into BABIES brains at nanoscale or National Service Trainees on their 18th birthdays . . . aren’t we all glad Holmes flipped out instead of becoming a ‘Kroenen Nazi’ (Hellboy I – Guillermo del Toro 2004) under the employ of Nepotistic Dictator types?

Perhaps an intergalactic war could be averted because a cockroach was not stepped on and some insect-like aliens were pleased into putting that planet into the lower priority conquest list (lets return after conquest of planets that stomp on bugs more than this one . . . ). How does one know? Perhaps because some pedophile killed in this life (for those who believe in rebirth) because in a past life that pedophile was killed by that same child who victimised them? Do we know how this works? Know past, present, and future? If some kid dresses sexy in some abstruse manner that keeps pedophiles distracted so that they do not become a sexually frustrated and trigger happy nuke fire control person (if I were a military chief of a country with nukes, I’d make very sure that Mr.Push-the-Red-Button is well laid and has all the poon and sex he wants ALL THE TIME), that would kill millions and irradiate the planet. This would require an adult services industry for the unmarried AND a legal system where multiple wives were legal and upfront so that both married and unmarried types will have access. The spin off benefit would be that 2nd Amendment Rights would be very safe to have as well – Mr.Redneck would be happy knowing he could kill you with a shot and thus does not feel the need to go on a killing spree, though genuine psychos could well still be present! Check the mindsets of the potential buyers, licence guns etc. but to prohibit is stupid and insulting to intelligence, which again could upset people into smuggling and using guns as often as they can in some oblique form of protest at lack of right to bear arms!

I’d say lets turn the whole world into a red light district that also has organic psychedelics bars, distribute land and wealth equally, so that everyone was relaxed and pleasantly distracted than being put into situations that cause, frustrate or necessitate them to want to bend reality even as they bend in reality’s wind. See the angriest religion? The most capitalist country? Guess how unqualified they are to be morally pure/fiscally sound but so willing to commit acts of terror/so bankrupt . . . And here we have @jezebel wanting to diss ‘kids trying to be sexy’. These PERSONS (do not labelise as kids) are doing something not so nice as viewed by most of us who do not like that sort of thing, but sure as hell if adults don’t understand (much like heteros will never understand some people are gay, or bisexual), adults better shut up and see whether the kids or insane or the pedos are taking our souls or saving the world first, before firing socialised abuse without any warning, much less killing shots (in collusion with an already insane psychiatric establishment) that destroys persons engaging in general discussions on ideas like ‘kids trying to be sexy’.

We are not party to these people, have no right to judge, but can and should study and ask why and how FIRST, yet not condemn or prevent except in cases of coercion or unwanted and abusive grooming. This really is the best way – Live and Let Live . . . because things happen for a reason and must happen. That person left unmurdered could result in the murder of millions more simply because the system took out or disabled the would be murderer first. The fact might be that a murder in a particular neighbourhood was necessary! Lots of very bad people who have not been punished in former lives, dare think to presume to let them escape when ‘Punishers Through Time’ appear on the scene? How close or well studied are any to say? There will indeed be signs and thieves of signs covering up for more on the run from justice . . . stay the judgment from a past life but punishment will still arrive.

Civilise or stop a murderer and another will arise to claim the prize, do the job . . . Legion is many and reaches the ends of all civilisations and sentients in the Universe, Mankind cannot even manage their own planet’s ecology, preserve and maintain species diversiy or raise their lesser setient charges to a state of equality (try Cetaceans and Canines, Felines even Rodents) much less handle issues of equality and abuse in societies within Humanity on Earth . . .

‘God’ or ‘Nature’ created EVERYTHING, including the birthers, predators and cullers, quakers, Earthquakers of who and whatever. A cyle of life across time and dimensions needs predators or overpopulation will destroy or cause harm to societies of the prey. Thwart that immense will and unseen intent at severe cost to the Universe, to indulge the evil of one’s own fat or sanctimonious ego . . . This response is NOT intended or to be twisted to be in favour of sex oriented paedophiles (FINALLY – the word paedophile is not necessarily sexual btw, just straightening out hegelian dialectic floating around the use and abuse of the word demogogue style.Declaring one’s own ‘paedophilia’ (not recommended these days until the above written sinks in) is not sexual deviancy – good understanding of vocabulary says so current trends have twisted the word out of context – LEARN about hegelian dialectic and apply against government!!! . . . , so now think back to how people who dislike kids are really almost safer and less mentally exhaustive to be around in certain ways, yer lazy brains . . . bleeeeeeeeuuuuuurrrrrrrrrgh indeed.

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 25 — Rela Youth cadets will soon be able to sharpen their marksmanship skills at a RM6.56 million high-tech virtual shooting range, where they will handle simulation firearms.

The simulation centre at the Rakan Muda Complex here can cater to up to 14,400 trainees a year and aims to “foster youth interest in security and public order issues through the activity of shooting”.

Soldiers undergo training with a virtual shooting range. — ng.mil picThe virtual firing range will run on South Korea’s Intelligent Marksmanship Training Simulation System (IMTS), said to be two generations more advanced than similar systems used in the US.

It is understood that there are over 40 such ranges in South Korea, which are used to train its police force.

IMTS was purchased for RM5.15 million, while upgrading works for the complex cost RM1.5 million.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said he hoped trainees would be able to better understand the pressures of being a policeman when faced with a life-or-death scenario.

“Maybe the youths will see how difficult it is for the authorities to carry out their duties when faced with certain situations so they won’t easily point fingers and accuse the police in certain cases,” he told reporters after visiting the centre.

“I ask those who accuse the police (of wrongful shooting) … to come to this centre. They can see for themselves what they will do when faced with the choice of shoot or be killed. It’s not easy to make such a decision.”

Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Shabeery Cheek, who was also present, said the simulation firing range is safer than a real one as lasers and not bullets would be used.

He said the centre can also stay open for longer hours than outdoor firing ranges, the use of which is subject to the weather, and can be maintained more easily with fewer personnel.

Shabeery also explained that the server used to power the simulation could later be hooked up to other virtual shooting centres, saving money in the long run.

“It may cost more at first but later it’ll be cheaper,” he said, stressing that the cost saved on ammunition alone would be substantial.

Those who complete their training on the simulator can then go on to test their skills at a real firing range, he also said.

A virtual war games module will also be added to the simulation centre in future to teach trainees about tactics.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

The feel and use on real life and online (much like paintball gun paintball projectiles are 8 times slower than bullet guns) is entirely different.

PLEASE use a live firing range if you have any respect for REALITY at all Home Minister. Also those firearms should be replaced with non-lethal weapons, specific suggestion being :

(1) Tennis ball hurling ‘nerf guns’ which are quite decapitating at a certain rate of fire and range (ask how many ‘ham tam’ bolas one can take, not alot I tell you especially if fired from a gun like device),(2) tranquiliser darts (these can be abused so not the best option), or at most(3) somewhat lethal tasers (only to be used if met with lethal force, the good guys always try to ‘bring ’em in alive’ what more RELA being not even real police to begin with).(4) potentially lethal (but less likely to kill than bullets) broomsticks in shotguns – ‘Emergency Style’ . . .

Firearms are designed to kill and if maiming is not even the intent or troublesome for prison conditions later, civilians should never allow para-police groups like RELA to use firearms on them and AFTER training in an ‘online’ not even real environment to top things off. Have the MPs vote on this and probably you’d find the above non-lethal sugggestions preferred. Even citizens do not like the non-violent criminals to die under small arms fire.

These practice sessions should also best be done IRL along with running (with RELA member’s own legs) in real life rough terrain – not online, it could save RELA personnel lives and make them more sure footed even if a few bumps and bruises occur during training. How can resting elbows on cushioned pleather gun range supports, or lying on a mat in front of a computer widescreen in an airconditioned room constitute training? The taxpayers would not allow their money to be spent in this unreal/online manner? In fact one wonders if RELA itself should be paid such high allowances (will they be paid to play ‘Counterstrike’ type games as pretend storm troopers?) to begin with when real workers don’t even have minimum wage?

What does RELA fill in where the cops don’t already do? How about scraping RELA allowances and giving the cops a higher salary and better incentive to do better work?

Utusan Malaysia reported that the former Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Musa Hassan was a keynote speaker at the 25th Media Criticism Colloquium organised by the Faculty of Communication & Media Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). Tan Sri Musa is reported to have said: “Kita selalu membaca atau mendengar mengenai penurunan kadar jenayah, tetapi rakyat masih berasa tidak selamat kerana tidak yakin dengan maklumat penurunannya yang diterima itu,” In effect, Musa Hassan is questioning the credibility of the statistics provided by the Polis DiRaja Malaysia (PDRM) and the Home Ministry about the reduction of crimes in the country. In effect, he is questioning the integrity of the present leadership of PDRM under current IGP Tan Sri Haji Ismail Omar and the Deputy IGP Dato’ Seri Khalid Abu Bakar in reducing crimes and in making the country safer It should be noted that the image of the PDRM was at its lowest during the time that Musa Hassan was the IGP. Crime rate was very high and on the rise. He was embroiled in many controversies. His ADC wrote an open letter of allegation accusing him of creating a fictitious blog to frame Deputy Home Minister, Dato’ Johari Baharom, and called him a “pengkhianat bangsa”. Former OCCI KL Dato Mat Zin also accused him of fabricating evidence and perjury. There were allegations of corruption against him including his complicity with an underworld operator Goh Cheng Poh @ Tengku Goh in the loan shark menace during that time. That resulted in six rank and file policemen and even the Director CCID, Dato Ramli Yusuff, being charged by AG Gani Patail. They have all been acquitted. Musa Hassan is the first IGP in the history of the county and the PDRM to appear in court to give evidence against his own Director CCID, Dato Ramli Yusuff. In acquitting Dato Ramli, the Sessions Judge in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah delivered a damning judgment calling Musa Hassan in effect as a liar. It was because of his failure to control the rising crime rate that the government tasked the Home Minister, Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, to develop innovative crime prevention measures and making it one of the National Key Result Area (NKRA). It was through this initiative that the crime rate had been successfully reduced. Yet, Musa Hassan accused Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin Hussein of interference with the internal affairs of the PDRM when his contract as IGP was not further renewed. All these are still fresh in the minds of most Malaysians. Thus, it is very mischievous of Musa Hassan to question the accuracy of the national crime index to discredit the efforts of the PDRM. The fact is this, the current Deputy Home Minister, Dato Abu Seman Yusop, has just disclosed a recent study on Global Peace Index 2011 by an Australian based Institute for Economics and Peace which rated Malaysia as 19th among 153 countries in terms of being secure. This is also the highest ranking within South-East Asia. Musa Hassan should accept and recognise such internationally conducted and respected study instead of sounding like a sour grape. Musa Hassan should not use a media colloquium to cast aspersions on the Police Force that he once led. As a Principal Lecturer of the Centre for Media and Information Warfare Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), he ought to know the impact of such mischievous statement and journalistic slant. My Muslim friends tell me that there is even a chapter in the Holy Quran that forbids Muslims from sowing the seeds of suspicions and discord: “ Say: I seek refuge with the Lord …from the mischief of the Whisperer (of Evil), who withdraws (after his whisper),… ” Musa Hassan should know all these things better as had just been a victim of false rumour mongering about his marriage to an artist with a huge multi-million ringgit dowry. That is of course false and I applaud him for lodging a police report against these mischief-maker. I would also encourage him to sue them for defamation to clear his name. Thus, Musa Hassan should not do the same thing to others, as in the Christian saying: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (The Bible-Matthews 7:12) In the spirit of Christmas, I ask that we, Malaysians, stop all these suspicion, back-biting, casting aspersions and from creating dissensions that would cause divisiveness and chaos in our society. We should stand as one united people – as 1Malaysia! “HUMBLENESS IS GOOD VIRTUE, ARROGANCE SHALL FALL, THE MEEK WILL RULE THE WORLD”.

[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]

Bla bla bla . . . – as 1Malaysia! . . . We have enough ra-ra politicians and don’t need another platitude spewer – and a Xian one to boot. Tan Sri Robert Phang, 1Malaysia is not about defending any religion or any uniformed group. It is about the below 3 items as all good and serious governments should be :

1) Freedom from Apartheid/Fascism

2) Freedom from Religious-Persecution/Religious-Supremacy.

3) Equality for all ethnicities and faiths in all aspects of policy, Law and Constitution.

Could Tan Sri Robert as enthusiastically endorse the above 3 items instead of going all ra-ra on all disenfranchised and oppressed citizens? Stop quoting so many bible lines. To be PC, it is best to consider the ‘proselytizative’ effects of quoting from the bible, which is unethical if there was any such intent. Rather contrived attempt at making friends with the police and promoting Xianity subtly if anything, and at the expense of not mentioning APARTHEID no less, you’re not going to sell everyone out as so many have now are you?

Endorse. Otherwise file suit on the basis of Articles 1 and 18. Some of us do not have the network or experience or training, but unless you want to be all of the aboveexcept GUTS, better take action now while you’re hale and hearty.

1) Freedom from Apartheid/Fascism

2) Freedom from Religious-Persecution/Religious-Supremacy.

3) Equality for all ethnicities and faiths in all aspects of policy, Law and Constitution.